Impossible Dreamer
by TesubCalle
Summary: Post 'All About Eve'. Eden Advance looks for answers after Devon's sudden illness and placement in cold sleep, while Julia is plagued by fears about the true nature of EVE, Reilly, and the Council on G889.
1. After the Freeze

**A/N: This story has been years in the making; probably ever since the final credits rolled on my screen, and NBC left Eden Advance forever stranded on G889, and Devon forever frozen in that cryo-chamber. This story is my attempt to explain several plots lines that were left dangling. **

**Standard disclaimer: These characters are not mine; they belong to whomever can legally lay claim to them. I am simply borrowing them for a while.  
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**Impossible Dreamer**

* * *

_Julia's Narration_

_**Physician's Log: **_

_**24 hours ago, we took the desperate measure of placing Devon in cold-sleep. It was the only possible action to take, drastic as it was, to preserve her precarious state of health. She was probably only minutes away from total organ failure. The entire group, as affected by Devon's sudden turn for the worse as I was, did not object when I made the suggestion. **_

_**I still have no idea what caused her systemic failure. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Devon's sudden collapse and loss of motor control does somewhat mimic a disease that was known back on Earth as Multiple Sclerosis, a progressive neurological disorder...but that would not explain the suddenness of its onset, nor the rest of the puzzling symptoms and effects. **_

_**I made one notable and shocking discovery that I would never have known to look for had it not been for Elizabeth Anson: Devon does not have a bio-stat implant. This means that whatever was causing her initial symptoms like the rest of us was clearly unrelated, and it means I am once again chasing a phantom.**_

_**There are so many questions that are burning inside me. They have kept me awake since we put Devon into that cryo-chamber...**_

"Julia?"

Alonzo gently shook the young doctor's shoulder.

"Mmm?" Julia lazily stirred from the workbench in the Med-Tent, her ponytail askew, tendrils of her dark-blonde hair spilling around her cheeks.

"Julia," Alonzo said, taking in her slumped body position and exhausted expression.

She raised her head and turned to face him, wiping a hand across her face. She blinked at him, bleary-eyed, and noticed how intently he was observing her; how he made no attempt to hide his concern.

"Don't say it," Julia preempted him, already guessing his reasons for being there.

"Don't say what?" Alonzo appeared slightly flustered. His eyebrows shot skyward, and he glanced away briefly.

"Oh, please," Julia said with mild irritation, as she moved her hands to re-secure her unruly hair. "Give me a little credit. These conversations are getting to be so predictable. How many times have either you, or someone else from the group told me: 'Julia, you need to get some rest. _Real_ rest. Falling asleep in the Med-Tent with your head on the table doesn't count', or words to that effect?"

Alonzo gave a sheepish grin that she found irresistibly disarming. "You got me, Doc," he said simply. "Yes, I did come to try to convince you to take a break."

"Well, I appreciate everyone's concern," Julia said, not wanting to fight him on the subject. She smoothed back her hair and brushed off some non-existent dirt from the thighs of her pants. "It's just that I can't stop thinking about everything that's happened in the past couple of days. I need time to sort through it all... Sleeping seems a waste of precious time."

"Well, it doesn't look like we're going anywhere too soon," Alonzo said with a slight shrug. "We've barely recovered from the effects of the faulty bio-stat implants. Danziger doesn't seem eager to leave, either, and so far no one's questioning him about it."

"I just feel like it would be _wrong _to rest while Devon is so ill, and I'm getting nowhere," Julia continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Alonzo, I'm worried, and not just about what's happened to Devon..."

The handsome pilot frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It has to do with what Elizabeth Anson said*," Julia responded. "She seemed to think that it was hopeless for humans to exist on this planet. She said G889 would ultimately reject us. But that _can't_ be right, Alonzo."

Alonzo folded his arms across his muscular chest. "Franklin and Elizabeth worked for the Council, right?"

"Yes," Julia answered, and recounted what they knew about the doomed expedition. "Franklin Bennett and his crew were the first of the Council-sanctioned operatives to be here. They were here for eight years before they concluded that G889 was rejecting humans."

"And that was fifty years ago," Alonzo added. "They didn't have a link to the Terrians and to the planet like we do now."

Julia nodded. "Elizabeth never knew about what the Terrians did for Uly. There was no time to fully explain. Alonzo, she was wrong about this planet. She _has _to be... but then there's also..."

"There's also...What?" Alonzo prodded her to continue her train of thought when she fell silent.

Julia stood, her hands on the table behind her, supporting herself. Alonzo's question hung in the air several moments. Finally, Julia looked up at him and sighed aloud. "It's just... everything: EVE, Reilly, The Council, Eben... Devon falling ill like that... even how we found Bennett's ship in the first place..."

"What about it?"

"Well, Morgan said he'd been contacted in VR... but when Bennett woke, he seemed to have no knowledge of that initial contact at all. In fact, he emphatically denied it... but somehow, I don't think Morgan was making up that story. How else would he know the codes to activate the cryo-chambers?"

Alonzo placed his hands on Julia's shoulders and searched her face. "I don't know how Morgan knew. Maybe it was EVE. Maybe she... _it_... whatever, was waiting for us to reach this zone. Maybe she was transmitting a VR signal that Morgan chanced to pick up. Maybe any one of us could have picked it up. But you know what a VR addict he is..."

Julia listened to Alonzo's suppositions, and smiled slightly at his mention of Morgan Martin's 'hobby'. "You're probably right," she said. "But there's one thing that's been bothering me about EVE..."

Her thoughts flew back to the encounter they had with the artificial intelligence from the Council satellite.

_**EVE... **_

_**Franklin Bennett's creation, intended to be the Council's monitoring hub, orbiting above G889. Fifty years ago, Bennett uploaded a virus in an attempt to kill the program, hoping he'd be long gone by the time the virus became active. Fifty years ago, Bennett and his crew were trying to flee this planet, believing that it could never be a viable option for human colonization.**_

_**But Franklin and Elizabeth didn't know what we know now. They didn't have the link to the Terrians, and ultimately, to the planet, that now exists; a link that is thriving through Ulysses Adair.**_

"Only _one_ thing's bothering you about EVE?" Alonzo asked, quirking an eyebrow. "That program terrorized us. You, especially."

"I know," Julia said pensively. "But 'Lonz, I've been over in my mind every single encounter I had with Reilly since we landed on this planet-"

"You mean with EVE," Alonzo corrected, removing his hands from her shoulders.

"No," Julia countered with a shake of her head. "One time sticks out in particular: I'd entered VR, fully expecting to find Reilly waiting for me. _He wasn't there_. I had to _wait_ for him to show up. When he finally did plug in, he seemed surprised that I'd made contact with him in such quick succession. Alonzo, a computer program just doesn't behave like that."

"What are you thinking, that EVE and Reilly _aren't_ the same? Even after what you saw?"

"I know what we saw, but... Look: one time, when Reilly was trying to convince me to... remove Uly's pineal gland, he... he told me that twelve years ago, he himself had removed the pineal of a child penal colonist." Julia shuddered at the memory.

Alonzo reacted with disgusted grimace, but said: "Couldn't that still have been EVE playing the Reilly persona to convince you of his intentions?"

"Just... Hear me out," Julia said, putting up a hand, indicating her arguments were still not finished. "When we were inside Bennett's ship, EVE only switched to the Reilly persona _after_ we showed up. Do you remember how he greeted us? He said 'hi' to Devon and me, but didn't seem to know the rest of you, which makes no sense at all. Remember what happened when we confronted him in VR after the Z.E.D. incident? He saw you, Devon and John, and he reacted quite strongly when you showed your support for me... and Alonzo, _you _offered to spell out your name for him in case he missed it."

"Yeah, I did..." Alonzo scowled at the memory.

"As a Council satellite, EVE would have access to Council personnel files," Julia continued, giving free rein to her theories. "All she had to do was pull Reilly's profile. She _could_ have built a composite of him from all the data the Council has on him, from his appearance to his psychological traits, everything... The Reilly I saw beaming down from EVE was _not_ the Reilly I encountered in VR. It was close, but EVE's Reilly was... benign. If it's even possible, EVE's Reilly looked somehow younger than the VR Reilly."

"I don't know, Doc," Alonzo said, doubts clouding his thoughts. "Bennett did say EVE was infected with a virus he created... Maybe what we saw on the ship was a glitchy EVE."

But the more Julia thought about it, the more convinced she became. "I know what I'm talking about. EVE tricked us. You were _there_ in VR when... You heard how... _menacing_ Reilly was. He accused me of treason. There was none of that malice with EVE; no threats issued of any kind. It was as if we'd never even had any battles over Uly and control of the planet."

Alonzo ran a hand over his mouth and let it linger on his chin. "So what does this all mean?"

"I don't know," Julia replied sullenly. "I guess I'm... _concerned _that the real Reilly is still out there, monitoring us."

She looked away from Alonzo, not wanting him to see the depth of her worry.

"Hey, Doc..." Alonzo said soothingly, reaching out to touch her face. Julia brought her hand up to meet his and allowed herself a brief moment of comfort the contact brought. "Whether Reilly's 'out there' or not, you _know_ we'd never let the Council get their hands on you – or Uly, for that matter."

_**Uly.**_

_**My heart aches for the child. He is only nine years old, and he carries a heavy burden. Whether he senses it or not, the fate of an entire race rests on his tiny shoulders: the human race. His connection to the Terrians is likely our one chance at survival.**_

_**His cries for his mother when she fell ill were painful to hear. He was brave in his acceptance of the unanimous decision to place Devon in cold-sleep. He was quiet and reserved as he placed the walking stick at the door of Devon's chamber. **_

_**Unless I am able to find a cure for Devon, I fear it may very well become her tomb...**_

"Uly..." Julia murmured. "I can't even imagine what this is doing to him. He's only a child. How much can he understand of what's happening?"

"He seems to be bearing up okay. He's quieter, but Danziger's been looking out for him. I mean, we all have, really."

"'Lonz," Julia started tentatively, "the bond you and Uly have with the Terrians... do you think maybe there's a way you could ask them for help? Maybe they know something about this planet. Maybe they know why Devon's so desperately ill."

"I don't know," the pilot replied. "We've already asked them for so much. They've already done more than we could have hoped..."

Julia let out a sound of exasperation. "I know... I just thought it might be something worth exploring. I know so little about _everything_ we've encountered. I hate feeling so helpless."

"It _is_ worth a try," Alonzo said encouragingly, trying to bolster her spirits. "Besides, I bet Uly will want to do something -anything- that could potentially help his mom."

"So you'll do it? You'll try to contact the Terrians?" Julia asked anxiously.

"Absolutely," he said, grinning with pleasure at Julia's hopeful expression. "Anything for you, Doc."

"Thank you," she said simply, smiling back at him, feeling her heart swelling with affection.

* * *

"But I thought Bennett said EVE and Reilly were one and the same," John said, furrowing his brow.

Julia had just finished laying out her theories to the mechanic about their encounter with the Council satellite.

"Yes, but Bennett never said that _he_ created the Reilly persona. He just called EVE a 'clever girl'. That, and there was nothing threatening about him at all. The Reilly we encountered in the past in VR was livid that I'd betrayed the Council... yet when we were inside the ship, he made no mention of that transgression at all. The Council doesn't forget that easily."

"Sounds really far-fetched," John said, rubbing the stubble on his jaw. He saw Julia's face fall, and tried to salvage the conversation. "Look, it's not that I don't trust your instincts on all things Council-related, but don't you think you're bein' a little paranoid? I thought you'd be relieved to find out that _the_ Council wasn't orbiting up there; that there _is_ no Reilly." John pointed skywards and made a cork-screw motion with his finger.

"I _am_ relieved," Julia protested. "I mean, I _would be_, if I could be positive about it. But I'm not."

"So what are you suggesting?" John asked.

"I'm suggesting that we be cautious and vigilant," Julia said carefully.

John rolled his eyes. "We've been 'cautious' and 'vigilant' since we got here, Heller. We've got Zero constantly monitoring our surroundings, and everyone who's not still sick in bed doin' sentry duty. We've got the zone perimeters on at night, too. What else is there that we can do?"

"I think we should set the perimeter during the day, too," Julia said, not at all fazed by his bluster.

"Aw, come on," John groaned. "That's gonna suck more power than we can spare if we run 'em during the day _and _night."

Julia bit her lip. She had to admit he was right.

"Look, Doc," John said, taking a more gentle tone, "I know you've been working yourself to the bone, trying to find out what's happening to Devon. It's wearin' you down. You barely gave yourself a chance to recover after those brain implants went haywire. Don't borrow more trouble than you need right now, okay? The Council doesn't have to be this dark presence overshadowing everything. You'll make yourself crazy if you start lookin' for danger and conspiracies everywhere."

_**The Council...**_

_**This planet has taught me far more about myself than I ever thought possible. I thought I knew who Julia Heller was. I was born on the Stations, the daughter of a member of the Council's Board of Regents. My genes, for lack of a better phrase, were 'skewed'; altered so that I would be genetically predisposed to the medical arts. My destiny was laid out for me even before I was born. And I was taught that it would be the highest honor to fulfil that destiny, as the Council saw fit... **_

_**I followed the directives of the all-powerful Council with complete, blind faith. Here on the planet, that loyalty was tested. I came to see that the goals of the Council were utterly reprehensible and untenable with my own new-found sense of truth and loyalty. My loyalty lies with the Eden Project, and all the members who rely on me for their health and well-being. I broke their trust once, and thankfully regained it. **_

_**I will not break it again. **_

_**I'd rather die first. **_


	2. Ask Mother

Alonzo found himself in an underground cavern. Reddish-brown walls of solid rock surrounded him, and he knew he was dreaming. He looked around, and saw Ulysses Adair standing nearby.

"Uly?" he called softly, the sound of his voice echoing against the hard surfaces.

The boy did not reply, and stood solemnly in place. Instead, he closed his eyes, and trilled.

The ground stirred beneath their feet, and two Terrians 'swam' to the surface, staffs in hand. The tall creatures raised their heads and calmly regarded the two humans.

"We're here to ask your help," Alonzo said, giving voice to his thoughts, though he knew that the Terrians were more adept at perceiving emotions than spoken words.

Uly trilled once again, and the Terrians twittered back a reply.

Alonzo felt an answer enter his own thoughts, but was unable to decipher its meaning.

Uly smiled, and vocalized his 'thank you' in the strange, unintelligible language.

With that, the Terrians sank into the floor of the cavern and disappeared from sight.

Alonzo opened his eyes. He sat up on the cot and met Julia's expectant gaze.

"What happened?" she asked, running a cursory scan of his system with the diaglove. "Did you get anything?"

Uly sat up on his own cot and yawned. "Yeah," he said casually. "The Terrians are pretty sad, because they know I'm sad. You know, about my mom and all..."

Julia smiled softly at the boy and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "That's why we're doing everything we can to help her get better, Uly."

"I know," Uly replied, with nod that caused his blond curls to bounce on his head.

"Well, what did the Terrians tell you?" Julia asked, as she moved to scan him.

"'_Ask Mother'_," both Alonzo and Uly answered in tandem.

* * *

"And you really think finding a chunk of Morganite is going to work?" John asked dubiously.

Julia shrugged. "It's the only thing I can think of."

"'Ask Mother', huh?" John sniffed, repeating the message Alonzo and Uly brought back from their dreaming.

"Yes," Julia said. "Remember how we used the Morganite to decode the geolock the Martins had activated? I can't explain _how_ it worked, but it did. When Morgan interfaced with the locking system and touched the rock, he was tapping into what we theorized was – for lack of a better term – the vast communication system of the planet, connecting us to its cerebral cortex."

"And you're thinking, what, that tapping into this 'communication system' will help you diagnose Devon's ailment?"

"Yes. At least, I hope so. John, I want to try. I see no reason why we shouldn't trust the Terrians."

John grunted. He was skeptical. But deep inside, hope that Devon might be cured blossomed, whereas before he had been dismally resigned to believing she would never be revived.

"Fine," John said. "I guess it's worth a shot, no matter how crazy it is."

Julia nearly laughed. "Well, I wasn't looking for your explicit approval, John," she said. "Alonzo's already gearing up to take the ATV out to some caves that are in the vicinity. He's hoping to find some Morganite to bring back to me."

"Make sure he stays on Gear," John warned.

This time, Julia did laugh out loud.

"What's so funny?" he asked with a confused scowl.

"John, you're the main offender when it comes to neglecting to check in on Gear," she chuckled.

"Yeah, well..." he trailed off, scrubbing the back of his neck. "Things haven't been too great for our group lately, you know?"

Julia noted his serious expression. It suddenly struck her that she had been completely oblivious to his emotional state. It was no secret to her that he harboured certain complicated feelings for their felled leader. And now he had taken on the responsibility of caring for Devon's son. He'd become the default leader overnight, and Julia didn't envy him that. She knew the members of the group looked to her for medical solutions, but they were now looking to John to guide them to New Pacifica.

It was a task that he shouldn't have to shoulder alone.

"Hey, Danziger," she called mildly, causing him to pause and turn back to her. "I know what Devon means to you. You're not in this thing alone. You know that, right?"

John schooled his features and nodded curtly, his lips pressed into a thin line. He departed without offering a verbal reply.

Julia stared after him for a long time after he disappeared through the tent flap, hoping he had taken her words to heart.

* * *

Alonzo sped along the dusty terrain in the ATV, heading due south towards a rocky formation that held the promise of containing caves with a Morganite deposit. He smiled to himself. It was a silly name, really, but he knew that their group would probably forever refer to the unusual rocks by the name that Morgan had egotistically bestowed upon them.

"Solace to base camp," he spoke into his Gear mouthpiece.

There was a delay, and he waited patiently. Then Julia's face flashed into the eyepiece display.

"Hi, Alonzo," she said cheerily. "Are you there already?"

"No, but I figure it'll be another hour or so. I'm just 'checking in', since Danziger's turned into such a mother hen about all this."

"I'll tell him you're alright, then," Julia said, smiling.

Alonzo grinned back. "Thanks. I'll beep in when I reach those caves. I really hope I don't come back empty-handed."

"I hope so, too," the young doctor said.

"Doc?"

"Yes?"

"I thought you said you were going to get some rest while I was away."

"And I will," Julia said.

"When?"

"As soon as you sign off."

"Hmm. Alright," Alonzo said, unconvinced.

"What, you don't believe me?" Julia retorted with mock indignation.

"Knowing your track record? No. You allow yourself rest about as often as John remembers to turn on his Gear. Admit it."

Julia suppressed a giggle. "Okay, I _promise_ I'll rest as soon as we finish this conversation if it makes you happy."

"Fine," Alonzo said.

"Fine," Julia repeated.

"Doc?" Alonzo spoke tenderly.

"Yes?" Julia responded, an unconscious smile tugging at her lips.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," Julia replied, feeling an unexpected, but welcome warm rush of emotion for the handsome pilot.

"Solace out."

The connection was broken, and Julia was once again staring at the walls of her tent as Alonzo's image disappeared.

She swung the eyepiece away and returned her attention to her work. She told herself she really _would_ take a little nap, just not yet. Her brain was still too active. On the table was her hand-held medical scanner and her diaglove. Julia was puzzling over how she would be able to use either device in conjunction with the Morganite in order to investigate the reasons behind Devon's sudden collapse.

When Morgan had used one of the rocks to break the coded tiers on the geolock, he'd simply touched it with his bare hands, and used the VR Gear to interface with his conscious thought patterns. Those thoughts were amplified and enhanced through the VR simulator into a visible representation of the geolock's complex schematics. The Morganite somehow learned the language of that complex coding system, aided by Morgan's own knowledge of the technology.

His hands had been burned by the prolonged contact with the stone, but they had since healed without any long-lasting effects.

_Should I just_ touch _the rock and hope to get some sort of answer?_ Julia thought to herself.

_Ask Mother_.

It sounded so vague. And ludicrous. The last thing she wanted and needed was false hope.

_If only I had more sophisticated equipment at my disposal, _she thought. _Nothing I have is really geared for advanced diagnostic functions..._

If there was ever a time she wished she were back on the Stations, now was that time. On the Station hospitals, she would have had access to the best diagnostic tools and technology. She could also consult with other medical professionals who were much more experienced.

_Frontier medicine_, she thought sardonically. She'd already exhausted her own medical databases as well as Yale's library. While they were both extensive, Julia knew that they were far from being complete and comprehensive.

Nothing she'd experienced in medical school or Council training simulations had even remotely prepared her for life on G889. VR could never truly capture, for instance, what _rain_ felt like: how it smelled; how it sounded when it pattered on the tents, or the effect the droplets produced when they beaded on the windows of the TransRover.

The rumble of thunder or the flash of lightning still evoked a primal fear and an eerie fascination in all of them, including Bess Morgan. Even though the former Earth-res had experienced storms, such events on Earth's surface hadn't been pleasant. Earth's rains had turned so acidic that when they fell, it was always cause for fear and consternation.

Julia reflected on other new experiences and sensations, like the call of a wild bird, the brush of the fresh wind through her hair, or how the warm rays of G889's sun tanned their skins.

Then there was the snow that socked them in while making their way through higher elevations. The sheer whiteness everywhere and the silence due to the sound-dampening effect of the snow was profound. The wintry weather and chill seemed to seep into the very marrow of their bones, and turned their breaths to icy vapor. The atmospheric controls on the Stations meant the temperature was constantly maintained. Deviations were simply not part of the programming.

She thought of evenings spent around the fire after evening meals, sharing stories under G889's twin moons. The lesser, third moon hovered in a lonely orbit on the other side of the sky, always dwarfed by its larger sisters. Julia recalled its pale light had shone down the night of Bess' trek while under the influence of the strange substance she and Danziger had inhaled.

Even gravity felt different on the planet's surface. The Station gravitational controls mimicked Earth's gravity, but Julia had to admit that the natural pull on G889's surface was nothing like the artificial pull created by the gravitomagnetic G-forces on the Stations.

The best part was the _air_: fresh, clean, unfiltered air. The air on the planet even had extremes, something quite foreign to their senses. When she, Alonzo, Devon and John had made their unsuccessful trip to find New Pacifica through the spider caves, the sea-breeze on the shore carried a warm, moist, salty tang. It was different from what she was used to, but pleasant. The mountain air, in contrast, was drier, thinner and more crisp. It took more effort to comfortably breathe for the first little while in both instances.

Then also was how the perfume of the flowers and trees carried effortlessly on the winds, tickling their noses. Such a variety of aromas would never be available to them in the recycled, characterless, sanitized air of the Stations.

How could Franklin Bennett and Elizabeth Anson so desperately want to abandon such a beautiful planet?

Julia wondered for the umpteenth about Elizabeth's dire warning, and again she convinced herself that the other doctor had been wrong; her conclusions flawed because she had been lacking sufficient information.

_She didn't see what I got to see,_ Julia thought to herself. _She didn't see the planet give a part of itself to heal a hopelessly sick and dying boy. Elizabeth didn't know that a connection was possible. She didn't understand what sort of sacrifices were necessary... She didn't know that this planet could show compassion to humans... and if she had known, would she have fought the Council tooth and nail to protect it?_

Julia wanted to believe Elizabeth's answer would have been a "yes".

* * *

An hour-and-a-half later, Alonzo slowed the small, solar-powered vehicle to a stop just outside a natural entrance to the caves he'd been seeking. He got out and stretched his cramped legs, then switched on the Gear to inform the Eden base camp that he'd reached his destination safely.

To his surprise, Magus answered. "Hi, 'Lonz," she said to him.

"Oh, hi, Magus. I was expecting Julia," Alonzo said, having not believed for a second the younger woman's promise to take a nap.

"Believe it or not, our good doctor is dozing," Magus explained Julia's absence.

"Well, good for her," Alonzo said, genuinely pleased to hear Julia had chosen to get some shut-eye after all. "I'm just checking in. I'm at the caves now. If I find some Morganite, I'll call in again."

"Sounds good, 'Lonz," Magus said. "Be careful in there, okay?"

"Will do. Solace out."

Alonzo approached the mouth of the cave, which was really a narrow opening he barely managed to squeeze through. He had to position himself sideways, and with a little effort, guided his shoulders, then his hips and legs inside. He turned on a luma-light and flashed it around the interior of the cave. It was considerably cooler inside, and Alonzo was glad for the respite from the unrelenting rays of the sun. The luma-light revealed a natural tunnel to his immediate right. Dauntless, the pilot took off in that direction, keeping his eyes peeled for the all-important Morganite rocks.

After about five minutes of creeping along the cavern, he started hearing an almost-familiar pulse. The sound started low, then built to a crescendo, and dissipated once again.

_Another spider tunnel? _He wondered. His question was answered when he came upon a chamber with a giant web spun across the entrance to another tunnel that branched off to the left. Alonzo heard the rush of another energy wave; saw the flash of light, and then it was gone as quickly as it appeared. He'd be avoiding _that_ tunnel for the time being - he had no way of knowing where he'd end up, even if there was a remote possibility it led to New Pacifica.

Alonzo opened a channel on his Gear. "Solace to base camp... I'm in the caves, and I've found another one of those spider tunnels..."

There was no reply.

"Solace to base camp," Alonzo repeated. "Anybody there?"

Again, nothing.

Alonzo pouted. Something was hindering his Gear signal. _It must be these caves_, he decided. _Must __naturally dampen the transmission... Great. Just hope I don't end up trapped in here with no way to call home for help._

Avoiding the spider tunnel, Alonzo instead continued along a branch of the cavern that twisted again to the right. He used his Gear to log his progress so he could find his way back on the return trip.

His efforts were soon rewarded when he saw the tell-tale signs of a bright, glowing vein running along the side of a wall he came across. Alonzo grinned at his discovery. Good news had been in such short supply recently, he was glad for the emotional boost.

Alonzo used a chisel tool to loosen a chunk of Morganite. He chipped away gently, and used a pair of tongs to place the stone inside a heat-resistant pouch for the return trip.

_Ask Mother_, the pilot thought about the Terrians' message. _Well, I sure hope this will help us do just that, once I get it back to Julia..._

On his way back to exit the cave, Alonzo paused for a moment in the cavern that branched off to the spider-web tunnel. The vacuum current pulsed at regular intervals, just as it had with the spider tunnel they had encountered so many months back.

_We'll have to come up with some way to safely test where you go,_ Alonzo thought, _but for now, Devon is our priority. _He squeezed back through the opening and out into the afternoon sun, and keyed his Gear.

"Solace to base camp," he said, and waited for a reply.

"What's going on, Alonzo?" Magus' face flashed in the display field.

"Good news! The caves had a deposit of Morganite. I'm bringing one of the stones back right now."

"Hey, that's great!" Magus said enthusiastically. She turned to inform the rest of the crew. "Hey, everyone! Alonzo found some of those sunstones. He's coming back with one right now."

Alonzo heard background exclamations of rejoicing. "I should be back in about two hours, give or take," he informed Magus. Then, "Is Julia still asleep?"

"She sure is," Magus said, "you want me to wake her to tell her the news?"

"Nah," Alonzo said, starting up the ATV. "The more rest she gets, the better. She'll probably be working overtime once I get back with the Morganite as it is."

"True enough."

"Solace out," Alonzo said, and logged off.


	3. Better Diagnoses Through Morganite

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. This is the calm before (one of) the storm(s). Things are about to get ugly, so enjoy the relative peace for as long as you are able with this chapter.**

3.

The dull grey, rounded hull of the Venus-class ship that had once belonged to Council researcher Franklin Bennett sat quietly in the distance, partly shrouded by indigenous shrubbery. A relic from the past that the Edenites would never have found had it not been for Morgan Martin's still unexplained VR encounter, the ship was now Devon's sole means of survival.

Julia hoped that was about to change. With Alonzo and John, she made the short trek from their camp to the ship; the Morganite specimen secured in a heat-proof pouch. Alonzo led the way as he released the locking mechanism that granted them access to the interior. Single-file, the trio descended into the darkened innards of the craft.

It took a few moments for their eyes to adjust to the lack of light, although several display panels produced some illumination, punctuating the dimness with bright dots of colour.

Julia felt a pang of guilt as she viewed the empty chambers that had held the members of Bennett's crew. All except Franklin and Elizabeth had died during the re-animation process, and she had been unable to stabilize their metabolics because of her complete unfamiliarity with the dated systems. She'd watched helplessly as pod after pod failed, and as life signs plummeted and flat-lined.

All three members of the Eden Advance crew stood in silence, gazing upon the banks of empty pods, their former occupants now buried in marked plots near Eben's little grave. Slowly, they at last turned to face Devon's chamber, not whispering a word by some tacit agreement. The walking stick Uly had placed as if to guard his mother was still propped up against the door to her chamber.

Devon's still, frozen form was wrapped in a white robe, visible through the frosty, reinforced glass panel. Her skin tone appeared a pale and sickly blue due to the glow of the pod's interior lighting function. Her eyes were closed, and her face looked peaceful and worry-free. It was at complete odds with the turmoil Julia felt stirring in the pit of her stomach.

The doctor took a deep breath, nearly gagging on the still musty, stale air of the ship. After being shut for so long, there hadn't been much opportunity for fresh air from the planet to circulate.

John folded his arms and hung back in the shadows, not wanting to get in the way. His eyes, however, never left Devon's face.

"Alright," Julia said, "let's see if the Terrians' advice will work for us." She activated her VR Gear and brought the scanner up to the pane of Devon's cold-sleep chamber.

"Ready?" Alonzo asked.

"Yes," Julia said with a decisive nod, knowing he was referring to her readiness for the Morganite.

Alonzo opened the pouch and gripped the orange, glowing rock with a pair of tongs and held it up for Julia. She gingerly reached for it with the tips of her diagloved fingers.

"Preliminary scan," she said, feeling a strange warmth emanating from the stone. The datapad of the scanner produced lines of medical code related to Devon's state of hibernation, all of which were within normal parameters.

"Celluar scan," Julia spoke. More lines scrolled across the datapad's screen.

John stood by placidly, trying to keep himself from shuffling his feet. He wondered how long this was going to take, and if this pet-rock, hocus-pocus was even going to work.

Suddenly the datapad readout became obscured; scrambled. "What - ?" Julia started.

"Everything okay?" Alonzo asked in a controlled voice. He figured it was too early to panic.

"Oh," Julia said softly, as the visual display on her VR Gear brightened and intensified. It began inexplicably transmitting images on a cellular level, almost as immediately as Julia's own conscious thoughts expressed the desire to see them. She had been momentarily surprised by the sudden change in the visual output, but had quickly recovered her wits when she intuited what had transpired.

"What is it, Heller?" John stepped forward, body tense.

"I can _see_ everything. I don't know how, but I can see Devon's cell structure..."

"That's a good thing, right?" Danziger's uncertain tone of voice caused Julia to give a little smile.

"It's a very good thing..."

"Are you sure?"

"Let her be," Alonzo said, trying to calm the other man. John shot him an annoyed look, but held his tongue.

"Magnify," Julia said, unaware of John's attitude. She continued to let her thoughts direct the path of the newly-formed connection between Mother and their Earth-manufactured medical technology. Fascinated by the power the link afforded, Julia used her new diagnostic 'tool' to visually scan as much as possible as she tested various theories. She confirmed what she already knew, which was that Devon did not have a neural implant. Her cerebellum and brain stem were completely devoid of the presence of the chip and its tendril-like 'net' that meshed with a subject's own natural neurological pathways. But something else caught her attention, and Julia zeroed in on it.

"Oh my God...!" Julia tensed, her fingers flexing almost imperceptibly on the Morganite.

"What?" Alonzo queried. "What do you see?"

"There's something that's been attacking the myelin sheath..."

"And what is that, exactly?" asked John, as an uncomfortable, crawling sensation wound its way through his stomach. He didn't like the sinister sound of the word 'attacking'; not when it had to do with Devon.

"It's what coats the axons of the neurons in our bodies," Julia mumbled distractedly.

"Why sure, of course that's what they are... Now tell us in _layman's terms_, Doc," John grumbled.

"The myelin sheath is - okay, think of it in terms of - of electrical insulation. You strip that away, you're going to have problems. Myelin helps with the transmission of impulses along our nerve pathways. What I'm seeing right now in Devon is demyelination..."

John's brow buckled. "Caused by _what_?"

Julia's lips formed a taut line. "Nothing natural." She removed her hand from the Morganite, turned off the scanner, and slipped the VR Gear from her head.

"'Nothing natural'? What does that mean?" John was staring at Julia, his features clouded in angry confusion, visible even in the limited illumination. He silently wondered why she was stopping. That couldn't be it; something was wrong. She finished too soon, hadn't she?

"Is your hand okay?" Alonzo asked softly, before Julia could answer the mechanic.

"It's fine," she responded. Then she turned to Danziger. "Devon's system has been compromised by something I've only seen in theoretical, computerized models. Even now, I'm still not sure I believe what I just saw."

"Quit being so shankin' cryptic!" John fumed. "What made Devon collapse?"

Julia looked between Alonzo and John. "I don't know how or when it happened, but there are _millions_ of foreign bodies in Devon's system. They're dormant now because she is in a suspended state-"

"'Foreign bodies'," John repeated. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"_If_ you'll let me finish," Julia said sternly, "by 'foreign bodies', I mean something that's not supposed to be there. From what I can tell, these foreign bodies are an evolutionary step in nanotechnology. And they've been programmed to do one thing: attack and destroy. These in particular have been stripping away the myelin coating of Devon's nerves. This would produce multiple symptoms, including some of the ones we observed."

"So what are you gonna do about it?" John asked.

Julia averted her eyes and her shoulders dropped. "There's nothing I _can_ do. Someone, somewhere programmed those things to kill Devon... and I have no idea where to even start. I'm a doctor, not an engineer in the field of nanotechnology. The research being conducted back on the Stations for the medical applications of this sort of thing was still in its infancy when we left... Or so I thought..."

"You're saying someone - for lack of a better term - _infected_ Devon with those ... nano-things _before_ we left the Stations?"

Julia nodded gloomily. "It's the only thing that makes sense. It couldn't have happened _here_. There's been no one here who could have possibly done it."

"That's just shankin' terrific!" John blurted.

Julia looked at him helplessly. "I'm sorry, John... I wish I had a better answer... I just... I just – this is something I am totally ill-prepared to fix..."

The Ops crew leader sucked in a breath, sent a fleeting look heavenward, then expelled the air from his lungs. "You tried, Doc," he whispered, his voice gravelly and raw as sandpaper. He turned to climb the rungs to get out of Bennett's ship. "You tried. That's the best any of us can ask of you."

Julia bit down hard on her trembling lip. She could feel that awful, foreign feeling rising inside her again: emotional pain.

_Damnit, I'm not supposed to be able to be susceptible to these feelings_, she thought, shocked to note that her tear ducts were starting to react as she felt the sting of the salty moisture. In shame, she turned away from Alonzo, not wanting him to see her loss of control.

"Hey, Julia," he said gently, "it's okay to feel... you're entitled to feel rotten about this..."

"I know," she mumbled in a quiet, low voice from deep inside her throat. "I'd just hoped that this would work; that I'd find an answer that would help restore Devon's health. But all I've done is confirm that she's still desperately ill, and that my skills are totally useless."

"Come on, Julia," Alonzo countered, pulling her gently towards him, forcing her to look at him. "We _do_ know more than we did. We know now what's caused her to collapse like she did, and I think we have a pretty good idea who's behind it, too."

Julia pouted, having already privately come to the same conclusion Alonzo had. "The Council," she said with disdain.

"Yeah," the pilot replied. "My thoughts, exactly. Guess they really mean to thwart us at every turn, don't they?"

"I never saw that sinister side to the Council when I was on the Stations," Julia said with a shake of her head. "Never. I'd heard whispers, but... My mother was always there to explain away the discrepancies. There was always a counter-argument during the rare occasions I voiced a concern. I was so blind..."

"You weren't 'blind', Julia. You were just misled every step of the way."

"That's a rather naive way of looking at it," Julia said, chagrined. "..._I_ was naive..."

Outside Bennett's ship, Danziger ran a hand over his forehead. The cheerful brightness of the sun seemed to mock him as darkness shrouded his heart.

_You're a damned fool, John_, he berated himself.

He pulled himself up to his full height and continued on towards the gathered members of the Eden crew, who were waiting expectantly just outside camp.

Yale's eyes were hidden behind his dark glasses, but there was an intensity about the older man that told John he was also on a razor's edge of anticipation.

Uly's face was bright and hopeful. The child left the tutor's side and dashed forward.

"Did Julia find out what's wrong with my mom?" he asked eagerly.

John looked pityingly at the boy. He also met the gazes of every other individual, his heart sinking as he knew he was about to dash their hopes as his had been minutes earlier.

"Yeah, Champ," John finally answered, dropping to one knee to be at eye-level with Uly. "She knows what's wrong."

Expressions of relief and joy erupted from the group. John knew he had to quickly put a stop to their preemptive celebration, as Alonzo and Julia exited Bennett's ship at that moment.

"_But_," he added, raising his voice above the din, "Julia has no way to _treat_ Devon's condition."

A dead calm fell on the group as tongues were silenced in mid-sentence.

"John," Yale said in a controlled voice, "what did Julia find?"

The mechanic gave Ulysses a brief hug and a pat on the head before addressing Yale. He stood and cleared his throat. "Julia says that Devon's system is playing host to millions of foreign bodies. Some kind of nanotechnology, or somethin'."

"Nanotechnology?" Yale repeated. "How is this possible?"

Julia approached in silence, taking in the forlorn stares of the people she had come to call friends. Having heard Yale's question, she took a moment to formulate a reply before speaking. She steeled herself against her sorrow, and said: "I was able to see what's made Devon fall ill. At some unknown time, a rather aggressive form of nanotechnology – nano-bots, if you prefer – was introduced into Devon's body. I won't get into medical jargon, but they've done terrible damage to the vital networking material of Devon's nervous system."

"What?" Morgan Martin hissed. "How could this have happened? First there's these implants in our heads none of us knew about, and now tiny machines inside Devon's body no one knew about?! This is crazy. How do we know the rest of us don't have these nano-things inside us, too?"

Julia had to admit she didn't know. "We don't," she said earnestly. "The best I can do is scan everyone for the presence of the nano-bots, too."

There was an unsettled murmuring and muttering among the group.

"Is my mom still gonna be okay?" Uly asked tentatively.

The young doctor looked at the boy. "I think so, Uly. As long as she remains in stasis, so will the nano-bots. I just have no idea how to arrest their aggressive attacking mechanism, how to re-program them to stop, or even reverse what they've been doing. I don't dare wake her until I have those answers."

More expressions of dismay went up from the Eden crew.

Alonzo spoke up:"Look, everyone. We know what's wrong; we just don't know how to fix it. _Yet_."

"That's all well and good," Walman said, "but that doesn't answer the question of how this happened, or _why_. Who'd do something like this to Devon?"

Julia rolled her eyes in Uly's direction, telegraphing to the other man: _not now._

"We'll discuss our options later," Alonzo said hurriedly, picking up the slack. "We don't want anyone to panic, right, Julia?"

"Right," she answered.

"Well, I for one want to know _right now_ if my blood is teeming with things that shouldn't be there!" Morgan whined, then noticing Alonzo's glare: "Uh, we can talk about how they got there later...if there are any..."

The sun had already dipped below the horizon by the time Julia completed her scans of all the members of the Eden Advance crew. All her results came back negative for the presence of the nano-bots. Everyone was able to eat the evening meal in relative calm, and many of them slept peacefully, their personal fears assuaged.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, like so many other mornings in their particular region, but their meagre breakfast was eaten in silence. Hearts were still heavy over news that Devon's condition might not be rectified any time soon, and some were wondering if and when John Danziger would call for them to start moving forwards to New Pacifica.

Bess Martin volunteered to look out for True and Uly while the rest of the group met to discuss in detail Julia's findings and her suspicions, as well as John's thoughts on how they ought to proceed.

Yale had gone through his own repository on nanotechnology the night before, and had to sadly report that he had come up empty.

Julia voiced her concern that the Council somehow had a hand in Devon's illness, and her suspicion that the nano-bots had probably been programmed to become active after a particular time period had elapsed. "Whomever was responsible probably didn't take into account that Devon would be in cold-sleep for 22 light years," Julia posited.

"Another 'faction' we never heard about within the Council?" Morgan spat derisively.

Julia ignored the implied barb. "Yes. Probably," she replied honestly. "If someone – someone like Dyson Blalock, for instance – wanted to curry favor with the higher-ups, that someone could have found a way to administer the nano-bots in an attempt to assassinate her. To a lot of Council members, Devon was a thorn in their collective side for years with her plans to re-locate Syndrome families to G889."

"I can't believe you used to work for those people," Morgan muttered.

"Let's not dredge up the past, huh?" John said. "What's done is done."

"Yeah," Magus agreed. "Julia's made it clear she's done with the Council."

Julia sent grateful looks to the pair. Alonzo draped a protective arm around her, and sent a dark look Morgan's way.

"Hey," he squeaked, raising his arms defensively, "I'm just _saying!_ I was a civil servant back on the Stations. I'd hear things! I know that the Council had a hand in everything – good and bad."

"Morgan," John snapped, "can it."

Morgan shut his mouth.

The group discussed at length what their next move should be, and John declared they'd spent enough time camped in the area around Bennett's ship.

"Since it's clear there's nothing we can do for Devon now, we need to get goin'," he said. "New Pacifica isn't coming to us, and those colonists are gonna be expecting accommodation."

"About that, John," Alonzo started, suddenly remembering the spider-tunnel he'd encountered, "while I was searching for the Morganite yesterday, I found another one of those vacuum currents. I think we should explore the possibility that it leads to the west coast before we leave the area."

Julia expressed her surprise. "How come you never said anything about this earlier?"

"I tried to at the time," Alonzo said. "For some reason, those caves prevent the Gear signal from transmitting... and it left my mind over all the excitement about finding out what was wrong with Devon."

John, however, was unimpressed. Thoughts of getting trapped in a cramped tunnel invaded his thoughts. His own experience with the spider-tunnels hadn't been terribly positive. "No one's going anywhere in those spider caves," he said.

"This doesn't sound like you, John," Julia chided. "You're not usually the one to play it safe."

"Look, Doc," he said, "I didn't ask to be saddled with the responsibility of seeing you all through to New Pacifica. We've already lost enough people on this journey. I'm not losin' anybody else."

"But, John," Alonzo cut in, "if those tunnels _are_ a way to New Pacifica, we're wasting an opportunity -"

"Yeah, and those tunnels could also be a way right into the middle of the ocean, or inside a cave wall."

"Let's put it to a vote," Magus said diplomatically, sensing a face-off was looming.

Cameron and Baines nodded.

"I vote to just forget about the caves and move along like we've been moving," Walman said.

"Me, too," Denner said softly.

"That's two," John said. "Anybody got anything different to say?"

"I think we should consider giving the tunnels a try," Julia ventured.

"Of course you would," Morgan said with a scoff and a roll of the eyes.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Julia retorted.

"Well, it was only your boyfriend's suggestion in the first place," he said.

"That's not why," she tried to argue, but realized it would be futile. The rest of the group seemed to be reaching the consensus that moving onwards to New Pacifica and forgetting the caves was the way to proceed.

Cameron, Mazatl, Baines, Morgan, Yale and Magus were also all in favour of travelling on as per usual.

"That's everyone except you two," John said to Alonzo and Julia, after taking a tally.

"And I know Bess would agree with my decision," Morgan added eagerly.

Alonzo looked disappointed, but conceded to the majority. "Fine. The group has decided," he said graciously. Julia remained silent, pushing back an odd worry that suddenly troubled her mind.

"Fine," John said, relieved the democratic process had gone so smoothly. "We leave first thing tomorrow morning. Pack up anything you don't need today. Anyway, you know the drill..."

The meeting adjourned, and Julia went off to her tent with Alonzo following closely behind.

"Something's eating at you," he said to her once they were out of earshot.

Julia sighed and hugged her arms to her sides. "I can't put my finger on it," she answered. "I just feel like we're being watched. I feel like no matter where I turn, the Council is there. They were there for my conception, genetic manipulation and birth. They were on the Stations to oversee my upbringing and education. They were on the Advance Ship in the bomb and in Alex Wentworth's compulsion chip. They've been here on G889, and most likely still are – wherever Reilly's hiding. At any rate, they're present in EVE, monitoring us from orbit. I just can't escape them."

Alonzo looked at Julia with a helpless expression. "Come here," he said, and she allowed him to hold her. She leaned her head against his strong shoulder, confused once again by the emotions that were raging inside her. No words could put to flight the demons of worry plaguing her mind, but somehow Alonzo's presence made things more bearable. They stood together like that for a long time.


	4. The Enemy Without

**A/N: The explosive chapter 4 is finally here. Please do not hurl flames at me for what is about to happen. Thank you.**

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4.  
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After lunch, Alonzo made the solitary trek back to the caves to return the Morganite specimen after assuring John that he wouldn't also take a detour through the spider tunnels. While most of the other group members started the task of packing items that would not be needed during the night, Julia sat at her workbench, reviewing the results of the scans she'd done of Devon. She soon became totally absorbed in her work, as she was wont to do, and time slipped away.

A sudden cacophony broke out from the camp, snapping Julia's concentration. It sounded like everyone was suddenly scrambling madly around.

"_Ohhhhhhhhhh shank!!_"

She heard the unmistakable expletive come from Walman's mouth.

"Get down!"

_That's Magus_, Julia thought, as she stood up in a flash from her workbench.

"Take cover!"

_Baines._

"Someone help me get Walman to Julia!"

_Cameron._

"Daddy!"

_True._

"I'm okay, True-girl! Just sit tight with Yale and Uly. Do _not_ move until I tell you to, okay?"

_John._

"Ulysses! Stay down. True, come!"

_Yale._

Julia's mind was a turbulent whirlwind of competing thoughts and memories. This was starting to sound like a replay of what had transpired when they encountered the Z.E.D. unit so many months ago.

_Oh, God, please tell me it's not another one of those emotionless killers..._ She dared not leave her tent to look outside, deciding that it would not be prudent to place herself in unnecessary peril. She already guessed that Walman was hurt; how badly, she didn't know. She hurriedly prepared a pain-block vial for the hypo-spray, and slipped on her diaglove. Her preparations were well-timed as a moment later, Cameron and Mazatl appeared at the entrance of the Med-Tent, supporting an injured Walman.

"We're under attack," Cameron grunted. "We think it's another Z.E.D.!"

"Put him down right away," Julia said, indicating one of the cots. She tried to push back the fear that the attack originated from a Z.E.D. unit as Cameron surmised. Walman's face was a mask of pain, and his left leg dangled uselessly. There was a hole in his trousers that was clearly caused by a bullet – a bullet that was still embedded in his leg.

Cameron and Mazatl complied with Julia's request, and they hefted their friend to the cot.

"Get this bullet out of me _now_, Doc," Walman managed to say through clenched teeth, cheeks puffing.

"I will," Julia said calmly, as her genetic engineering predisposed her to keeping cool in a medical crisis. "I'm going to administer a pain-block, because I need you to keep absolutely still. We know from past experience that the less you move, the less it hurts."

Walman's jaw was working, and his fists were tight balls; knuckles white. A sheen of perspiration covered his agony-creased brow. "Do whatever! Shank, this hurts!"

Cameron fingered his beard nervously, and Mazatl stood back in silence, allowing Julia access. With a smooth _hiss_, the medication entered Walman's system, and moments later, he became more relaxed.

Julia examined the site of the entry wound, which was just above the left knee. The Ops crew member's clothing was already stained with his blood, but Julia was relieved to note that not much had been lost.

"Laser cut," Julia instructed the diaglove. The device complied instantly. A neat incision appeared as she glided the finger along the surface of Walman's thigh, separating skin and muscle.

"Do you feel anything?" Julia asked, always conscious of her patient's comfort level.

"Nothin'," Walman answered, almost dreamily. "Didja find it?"

"Yes," Julia said, concentrating intensely, "I almost have it."

"Good," he answered, awash with relief.

Julia's fears that it was indeed a Z.E.D. firing at them were confirmed when she noticed the tell-tale feature of the killer cyborgs' choice in ammunition: the incendiary worm bullet.

"Got it," she triumphantly exclaimed, pulling out the offending projectile with a pair of forceps. A grimace crossed her face as she held it up. No matter how many times she saw them, the sight of the slowly revolving, bore-like bullets always made her stomach roil in disgust.

"Give it to me!" Cameron said, desperate to be rid of the thing. He yanked it from the forceps and made a mad dash for the opening of the tent.

"Be careful!" Julia yelled after him.

Outside the tent, the rest of the Eden Advance crew hunkered down between stacked storage crates, vehicles, and machinery. Bess and Yale huddled with the children. Magus, Baines and Danziger crouched in positions throughout the camp, Magpros on the ground within arm's reach. They'd learned from their earlier encounter with the Z.E.D. unit who'd taken John captive that armed members of a group were usually the first to be targeted.

Gayle Denner and Morgan Martin had taken refuge next to the TransRover, and were eventually joined by Mazatl.

"Zero! What do you read?!" John hissed at the robot.

"I read motion. There are seven individuals, west-northwest, approximately fifteen-hundred meters away," Zero's mechanical voice advised. "Moving east-southeast at an approximate rate of two meters per second."

"Great," John muttered.

_Seven of them, all probably armed to the teeth. We're sitting ducks here._

They'd already come through so much... to be under attack again was almost too much to bear. The second that Zero had raised the alarm several minutes ago, warning of an incoming projectile, the whole camp had panicked. Then Walman had been struck, and John had all kinds of flashbacks to his ordeal with the one killer Council cyborg who'd interrogated him after having shot him. He absent-mindedly rubbed that thigh, though the wound had long since healed.

John wondered about the seven individuals Zero had been able to pin-point. Could they _all_ be Z.E.D.s? Was it possible they were hunting in groups? He'd seen Cameron dash out of the Med-Tent tent and away from the camp. He correctly guessed the man had gone to dispose of an incendiary bullet.

Was it also possible the seven were penal colonists? There were so many unknown variables on this planet.

"Warning," Zero's vocal simulation announced, "incoming projectile..."

A sudden yell of pain fractured the already fragile psyche of the group.

"Who's hit?" John bellowed, strain evident in his voice, but there was no answer. He cast quick, careful looks around camp. When he didn't initially see anyone down, he tried a roll call.

"Sound off!" he shouted. He called all the Ops crew members' names first, and was met with silence when he called Cameron's.

"Damnit, Cameron!" John swore. "Where is he?"

"I saw him taking off in that direction," Magus yelled, pointing west. "I think he was going to get rid of the bullet Julia pulled from Walman!"

"Somebody's gotta go get him!" Baines said, worry drenching his words.

"Stay put!" John warned. "Nobody's moving yet."

"But John, he needs help now!" Magus pleaded.

Movement caught John's eye. Cameron staggered back into camp, clutching his left bicep, blood streaming between his fingers. "I've been hit," he mumbled.

Magus broke cover and went to assist the bearded man. "Come on," she said encouragingly, "let's get you to Julia."

"Keep your heads down!" John barked. "For God's sake, don't give 'em somethin' to aim for!"

"I'm running out of cots," Julia said wryly, as Magus presented the hurt Cameron.

Julia disinfected her hands, and followed the same routine with Cameron as she had with Walman.

Knowing that the Z.E.D.s were programmed to eliminate the largest, armed males first, Yale decided it would be safest for the children to be with an unarmed female inside a tent, which at least afforded the illusion of protection.

"Go to the Med-Tent and stay with Julia!" Yale ordered forcefully, and the children knew it was not open for discussion. "Do not come out until one of us tells you it is safe!"

True and Uly took off for the doctor's tent without a word of protest.

Julia took in their pale, terrified faces, and tried to allay her own fears. With Walman and Cameron out of commission with the sedatives she'd administered, they would be absolutely useless in a fight.

_And I don't even have a weapon_, she thought in desperation.

The fact that they'd barely been able to get a jump on the Z.E.D. unit the last time was only due to careful planning and stealth, and even then the plan had almost completely backfired. Julia remembered that the cyborg could very easily have killed Baines had she not bluffed her way into making it think she was in good standing with the Council. Even though she'd been swift when she pressed the hypo-spray to the non-armoured patch at the base of its skull, the brute still had lightning-fast reflexes that surprised her, and she'd paid the price with a snapped wrist.

No, Julia knew that this time around, it would be too dangerous to attempt a ruse on her own.

The children clung to the young doctor as the trio huddled together in the tent behind a heavy piece of medical equipment, waiting for word that it was safe to exit.

Julia had tried earlier to raise Alonzo on Gear, but to no avail. She'd hoped to contact him; warn him... Her Gear was sitting on her workbench, and she wasn't about to move from her position just to retrieve it, even though the thought had crossed her mind.

The sounds coming from outside the tent in the camp were becoming unbearable to hear. There were yells and screams accompanied by the sound of Magpro fire and other assorted weaponry.

Julia closed her eyes, and tried not to put visuals to what she was hearing, but it did little good. After so many months of travelling together with the same group of people, she could easily identify the characteristic timbres and pitches of their voices. These were her _friends_ who were crying out in pain and terror, the very same friends she had sworn to protect. And every cry and every weapon blast was like a bullet to her own heart. It sounded like an all-out massacre, and any minute, she feared her hiding-place with the children, Walman, and Cameron, would be uncovered.

"Julia," True whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears, "why are they shooting at us?"

"I don't know," Julia answered carefully, her mind growing increasingly frantic about their chances for survival.

"I'm scared," True gulped, then whispered: "...I think my dad...I think my dad's been... I heard him, and then..."

The tent flap suddenly snapped open, and a tall, imposing figure was silhouetted against the afternoon sun.

True shrieked, and Uly sucked in a ragged breath. He tightened his grip on Julia's arm, burrowing his head against her side. She could feel both youngsters trembling uncontrollably.

"Stand and be identified."

The voice of a Z.E.D. unit was unmistakeably flat and lacking in any kind of empathy, and the one standing before them was pointing its weapon at them.

"Uly; True, stay behind me when I get up," Julia instructed in a low whisper, then mustered all the courage she possessed. She gently disengaged herself from the children and said in a hushed tone: "It's okay... I have a plan..."

She shakily stood from behind the piece of medical equipment and faced the emotionless menace.

"Z.E.D. unit," she raised her voice, projecting confidence she did not at the moment feel she possessed, "stand down. I am Council appointee Dr. Julia Heller, I.D. Delta 04917."

The Z.E.D. seemed slightly confused, then regained its composure. "That is a physician's code... Accessing... Dr. Julia Heller, Council appointee assigned to monitor the Eden Project. Tasked with procuring the child, Ulysses Adair, for the purposes of advancing the goals of the Council... Penal codes associated with Dr. Julia Heller... Julia Heller, you are to be taken into custody where you will await execution for your numerous crimes against the Council."

Julia stiffened as she heard the cyborg recite a litany of 'charges' she had allegedly committed in violation of Council laws and statutes.

"I'm not going anywhere," Julia declared. "And you're not taking this boy, either."

"You have no authority here, physician," the cyborg's monotone was starting to annoy Julia. "Surrender or be killed."

"No!" True wailed.

"Be still," Julia admonished with a subtle flick of her hand. But the girl jumped up impulsively, and railed at the Z.E.D., kicking at it, flailing her arms, pounding at its armoured body with her small fists.

"True! Stop!" Julia shouted in dismay, terrified for the girl's safety. Julia lunged forward to pull True away from the cyborg. Like a giant swatting away a gnat, the Z.E.D. shoved True aside, sending her cartwheeling away through the air. She slammed bodily into the workbench, and slumped to the ground.

"True!" Julia and Uly cried in unison as the girl remained quite still.

"You will stop this defiance," the Z.E.D.'s toneless voice grated on Julia's ears. She was about to move to attend to the unconscious True when she felt the soldier's hand on her shirt, restraining her. In a swift, fluid motion, it lifted her off the ground and brought her face-to-face, closing a hand around her throat.

"Put her down!" Uly's pleas reached Julia's ears. "Don't hurt her!"

Julia was gagging and gasping for breath, and could see into one of the empty, soulless eyes of the Council super-soldier. The other eye was hidden, covered with a cybernetic optical enhancement. She then realised that the Z.E.D. wasn't actually strangling her; just maintaining a secure hold. Julia knew kicking or striking the Z.E.D. would be futile. If it wanted to, it could instantly snap her neck much like the other Z.E.D. had snapped her wrist. She was trapped.

"I see you understand that it is useless to fight, physician," the Z.E.D. said. "Instruct the boy to cooperate now, and perhaps the Council will be lenient with you."

"Mr. Walman! Mr. Cameron! You have to get up! Julia's in trouble!" Uly tried to rouse the sedated men. Julia heard his panicked terror, and it cut her to the core.

_Instruct Uly to cooperate_? Julia thought of the Z.E.D.'s unusual word choice. Then it dawned on her: the Z.E.D. had most likely been programmed not to harm Uly in any way.

"Uly," Julia managed to choke out, still held aloft by the soldier, "you have to get out of here. It won't hurt you. I think it's part of its programming. The Council needs you alive."

"_Very _perceptive, Citizen." A bemused voice just outside the tent caused Julia's blood to run cold.

The tent flap parted, and in stepped _t__he Watcher_.

"Reilly," Julia breathed. Her stomach did a somersault, and his icy smile sent shock waves through her.

Even after all her own ruminations and theorizing, there had still been a tiny part of her that hoped the Council member was all a creation of a berserk satellite A.I. Now, she knew with certainty that he existed in flesh and blood.

"I told you I'd find you, Citizen," he chided, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "At last, we meet in person."

Uly cowered by Cameron's bedside, and stared up at Reilly with wide eyes.

"_You_ must be U_-lyss-_es Ad-_air_," Reilly crooned, stressing the consonants in the child's name and stretching the vowels, as if savouring the sounds.

"Don't you touch him!" Julia exclaimed hoarsely.

"My dear, sweet, treasonous Doctor Heller," the Council member _tsk_-ed, returning his gaze to her, "your affection for the boy and the rest of this rag-tag gang of misguided fools has been your undoing. And you had so much promise. The Council invested quite heavily in your future, Julia. Your mother will be extremely disappointed that her legacy has been so tarnished."

"My mother is living out her retirement years on the Stations by now, if she's even still alive at all," Julia ground out. She was starting to grow weary of being suspended in the air by the Z.E.D., but the cyborg showed no signs of tiring of the uncomfortable position whatsoever.

Reilly had a look of amusement on his face. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Citizen," he chortled, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

"What do you mean by that?" Julia frowned in confusion.

"After today, it won't matter to you one way or another," Reilly said, waving his hand in a gesture of dismissal.

"How did you find us?" Julia asked, trying another stalling tactic. "Was it EVE? Is she monitoring us through our neural implants?"

Reilly's smile intensified. "EVE has the _capability_ of monitoring you all from orbit. But there are natural black-out zones and areas that she can't detect you. That little problem was compounded when Bennett's little virus started playing havoc with her systems. When she started going on the fritz during that last winter, we lost all contact with her from the surface. That was a problem, because we still had scant information on where you were. Out of self-preservation, EVE implemented two strategies before the virus completely crashed her critical systems. First, she started broadcasting a looping VR signal, hoping to snare someone with it and entice them to wake Bennett. The other was to amplify the biostat monitoring signal. That, unfortunately for all of you, adversely affected your health. But once the fix was uploaded, we were back in business, so to speak. And now, here I am, ready to take what belongs to the Council."

"He doesn't 'belong' to anyone but his mother," Julia said through clenched teeth, appalled at Reilly's audacity.

He ignored her comment, moved past her and the Z.E.D. and stalked towards Uly.

"Uly, _run_!" Julia heard her voice breaking.

The child scurried away from Reilly, but the Council member was fast. He deftly snatched at Uly, and managed to get a hand on the collar of his sweater.

"Gotcha!"

"Julia!" Uly called out.

"Leave him alone!" Julia yelled desperately. "If anything happens to him, humans will never be able to settle here! Reilly, _you can't control this planet!_"

Reilly did not dignify Julia's warning with a response.

Uly wriggled under Reilly's steel-like grip, trying to free himself, demanding to be let go, but the man merely smirked at his vain, ineffectual efforts. He approached Julia's workbench instead, and pored quickly over the contents. His eyes moved past Julia's Gear, and finally found what he was looking for. He picked up a hypo-spray, already loaded with a sedative capsule, and pressed it against Uly's neck.

Julia heard the gentle _hiss_ of the spray, and then silence. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Hmm," Reilly observed, "that's much better. I think I like him much more when he's quiet. Don't you?"

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to shake.

Two Terrians emerged, their staffs charged with the strange and terrifying lightning.

Julia caught a glimpse of them through her peripheral vision, and her heart leaped when she saw them appear.

_Uly must have summoned them on the Dreamplane. They won't let Reilly take him!_

Momentarily startled, Reilly froze in place, and stared at the Terrians with a mix of horror and fascination. The creatures' mouths opened, and they vocalized something in their own language.

"I don't understand you," Reilly said condescendingly, "but the boy is mine. Now go back to wherever you came from! Get!"

One Terrian cocked its head to one side, the staff in its hand crackling with energy. It reached out to the sedated boy with the other hand.

Reilly swung Uly aside possessively. "Back off!" he snapped. "You don't know who you're dealing with."

"Reilly, let Uly go," Julia begged, her throat dry and raw. "The Terrians have a connection with him that you won't be able to find under a microscope!"

The pair of Terrians produced another series of low, lyrical sounds together, and joined their staffs. The tips glowed more brightly at the point of contact as the charge built to maximum levels.

Even though Julia didn't understand their 'words', she could almost sense the meaning, and she perceived the Terrians had just issued Reilly an ultimatum; a sort of 'last chance before we fire' warning.

Also realising what was about to happen, Reilly shouted to the Z.E.D.: "Shoot them, now!"

"No!" Julia cried. But without hesitation, the deadly cyborg drew a weapon, took aim, and shot the first Terrian while still maintaining its hold on Julia. The creature shrieked upon being struck, and immediately sank into the earth. The next instant, the second Terrian was also hit, and it quickly followed its kin below the surface, letting out a bass-note groan.

"Well, that's more like it. Filthy creatures," a more composed Reilly mused with a sneer. "Their kind will be eradicated from this planet – _as soon as we find out what makes Ulysses Adair tick_."

Julia felt a torrent of hot, fiery rage building inside her. It coursed through her veins, and sought full release and expression. _I will _not _allow you to butcher Uly! I will _not _allow you to slaughter an entire race of beings!_ In a moment of clarity, she knew what she had to do.

With a sudden motion, Julia thrust her diaglove-clad hand into the Z.E.D.'s face, deliberately jabbing her finger in its exposed eye. "Laser cut!" she commanded.

"Stop, physician!" the Z.E.D. droned.

"What are you doing?!" Reilly demanded in a loud voice.

Julia heard a hiss and a pop, and felt the membrane give way as the laser burned through the conjunctiva. She grimaced as she shoved her finger deeper inside the cyborg's eye socket, pushing through the gelatinous vitreous humour.

"St-stop-stop-op, physician-nan-nan-an..." it stuttered.

_I hope the laser is frying your brains and your programming_, Julia thought angrily, somewhat discomfited that the killer soldier wasn't struggling in any way, or showing any signs of suffering pain from its now destroyed eyeball. Then the nauseating stench of burning brain matter entered her nostrils, coupled with disquieting sounds of fizzling...

"Citizen Heller, stop this now!" Reilly roared.

The Z.E.D. convulsed once, and its limbs started contracting and seizing. Its face twitched involuntarily, and Julia's air supply was cut off as the cyborg's hand clenched more tightly. Julia was being slowly asphyxiated, but still kept the glove's laser function running.

"You're killing it!" Reilly howled furiously.

_That's the idea_, _you idiot_, Julia thought with grim satisfaction. _I just hope I kill it before it kills me!_

Reilly made a decisive move towards the pair, but stopped in his tracks as the Z.E.D. let out a guttural groan, shuddered, and then pitched forward and collapsed to ground, pinning Julia beneath him.

Reilly was livid. "You've just added wilful murder to your lengthy list of crimes against the Council, Citizen," he spat venomously.

Julia couldn't answer. She was being smothered by the dead cyborg, and she could feel her hold on consciousness slowly slipping. The hand that was closed around her throat had jarred loose when the Z.E.D. had fallen, but now his shoulder was pressed against her nose and mouth. Her diagloved arm was awkwardly caught between the ground and the Z.E.D., and Julia could feel that her finger was still uncomfortably embedded deep in his eye socket.

She tried to shove the cyborg's head aside with little success, but every push granted her a little more breathing space.

"Laser function: terminate," she mumbled, when she was at last able to draw an unobstructed breath.

Julia heard Reilly exhale in frustration. She couldn't see where he was, but knew he was hovering nearby. Then his shadow darkened what little she could see, as he blocked the slanted rays of the afternoon sunlight that were streaming through the partially-open tent flap.

She raised her eyes, and saw Reilly standing over her, Uly slung under one arm, limply hanging at his hip. He was holding the Z.E.D.'s pistol with his free hand. It was pointed at her forehead.

"I suppose I could just execute you right here," he said airily, pausing to let his words take the desired effect. "I could shoot you in the head and that would be the end of it. But you know what I think? That would be too merciful a death for you...I wonder how long it's been since that first worm bullet was fired? Since they were _all_ fired? I doubt you've been keeping count of how many minutes have elapsed. Even so, you can't know with absolute certainty.

"So, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to take our boy, and leave you here to ponder with what little time you have left all the things that might have been, if you'd only been obedient to the will of the Council. Yes, I think that will make a most fitting and satisfactory punishment. You see, pretty soon, all those incendiary bullets that are still lodged in the limbs of your dead friends will detonate; it's inevitable. I told you once you'd die running, Citizen. It seems I was wrong about that. Instead, you're simply going to die in a pathetic heap on the ground, disgraced, dishonoured, in the middle of nowhere."

Without further fanfare, Reilly turned around and retreated with Uly.

"Reilly!" Julia hollered, though her voice was still muffled against the Z.E.D.'s shoulder. "Reilly... Stop! You can't take Uly! Reilly...!"

Julia struggled again to shove the dead Council assassin off herself. Survival mode had kicked in, and she could hear her pulse pounding in her ears.

_This can't be happening! I can't let _them _win! _

_'You see, pretty soon, all those incendiary bullets that are still lodged in the limbs of your dead friends will detonate; it's inevitable.' _

Reilly's words mocked her, and Julia felt hot tears stinging her eyes. The crushing dead-weight of the Z.E.D. was inconsequential in relation to the weight pressing on her heart, mind and soul. Her friends were dead; murdered by a ruthless organization that sought ultimate control of everything – everything that she had vowed to herself she would protect and preserve as long as she lived.

_Alonzo_.

Julia's heart skipped a beat.

_Alonzo was still out there!_ Bitter tears of heartbreak flowed. If Alonzo somehow managed to avoid detection, he would come back to find nothing - nothing but empty craters and a series of blackened blast zones. The incendiary bullets would see to that.

_No! It mustn't happen like that!_ Julia's mind raged in protest. Her tears stopped, and again she pushed with all her might against the Z.E.D.

But no matter how hard she shoved, her efforts came to naught. The Z.E.D. was simply too heavy, and she didn't have the proper leverage.

A soft moan caught her attention before she was able to sink into total defeat.

"True?!" Julia called out hopefully. The girl was starting to stir! "True, can you hear me?"

"Mm-mm...hmm?"

"Please, True, try to wake up! You have to!" Julia tried not to sound hysterical. She honestly didn't know how long they had before the first bullet Cameron had disposed of would go off, nor the rest of the bullets. She didn't want True to be around when they exploded.

"Oww...Julia, my head hurts," True groaned.

"It's okay, True," Julia said soothingly. "You're going to be okay."

"Julia!" True gasped, as she sat up and saw the doctor trapped beneath the dead super-soldier. She could see the top of Julia's blonde head, eyes and nose, but not much else of her.

"I'm okay, True," Julia reassured the girl. "I'm not hurt. I'm just stuck."

"Is it – is it dead?" True asked in trepidation.

"Oh, he's quite dead," Julia said reassuringly.

True approached and started yanking at one of the cyborg's arms, hoping to help, but she could barely budge that single limb.

"Ugh! It's like this thing weighs a ton!" she exclaimed. "I can't move him, Julia."

Julia hid her crushing disappointment. She'd also hoped the girl could offer assistance in moving the carcass. Now she knew this was not going to happen.

"Don't worry about the Z.E.D.," Julia finally said.

"What's happened to Uly?" True asked fearfully, her brown eyes roving around the tent. "Where is he?"

Julia sighed sadly. "Reilly," she whispered. "I couldn't stop him..."

"What about everyone else?" True queried.

"I-I don't know," Julia answered, "I haven't been able to see outside the tent – wait, True, no! Don't look!"

The girl had been about to run outside, and Julia was relieved that she paused before going any further.

"True," Julia said, tone gravely serious, "listen to me: you have to leave the camp right now. Head for the Morganite caves. Do _not_ stop for anything, do you understand me? Run. Don't stop until you find Alonzo. He should be on his way back. Tell him that the Council... tell him Reilly was here, and that we were attacked by the Z.E.D.s. He also needs to know that two Terrians were shot with worm bullets. If they're not taken care of... I have no idea what would happen with an underground detonation..."

"Julia, I can't leave you and Walman and Cameron!"

"Yes, you can!" Julia countered. "You _have_ to. Those worm bullets are going to go off anytime now, and they're going to obliterate everything in their blast zone."

True's lip was quivering, her eyes shining with tears. "But..." she protested weakly.

"You're a brave girl, True Danziger," Julia said encouragingly, "and you're strong, just like your father. He raised you to be smart and resilient, and you are. You can do this."

The girl swiped at a tear that had fallen down her cheek. She sniffed once, then squared her little shoulders.

"Okay," she said, drawing a shaky breath.

"Good girl," Julia commended. "Remember what I said: Don't stop for _anything._ Reilly could still be monitoring, but he's already got what he came for. He won't be looking for you, at least."

True nodded resolutely. Her face was terribly stricken but very solemn as she said: "Good-bye Julia," and turned to exit the tent.

"True." Julia called out one last time, mentally kicking herself for selfishly delaying the child even a single second longer than necessary.

"Yes?"

"Tell Alonzo... tell Alonzo I love him...and that I'm sorry that I...I..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

True gave a sad smile. "It's okay. I promise I'll tell him," she said, and took off running.

Julia released the breath she'd been holding when she could no longer hear True's footfalls. She closed her eyes and waited silently for death.

She tensed when she heard the first explosion, indicating the bullet Cameron had disposed of had reached the end of its hour-long cycle.

A few seconds later, she heard the beeping of her Gear from the workbench, and knew it could only be one person attempting contact.

_Alonzo... My love..._

Her thoughts settled on their first real contact after their cold-sleep capsules brought them out of a 22-year hibernation. He'd been cocky and presumptuous, and had tried to make a pass, offering that they go 'celebrate life' together before everyone else woke. She'd rejected him immediately. Her mind was already full of her responsibilities, and of her own hidden demons. 'Celebrating life' was not on her list of duties and priorities, and certainly not a part of her Council agenda.

She heard another unsettling 'boom' from the bullet that had struck Cameron. Magus had taken care of that one, but hadn't gone very far out of camp out of fear of the Z.E.D.s. The ensuing tremor rattled the equipment in the tent. She could feel the shock waves reverberate through the ground and through her body.

_Not much longer now, _Julia thought in quiet resignation of her fate.

_My loyalty lies with the Eden Project, and all the members who rely on me for their health and well-being. _

_I broke their trust once, and thankfully regained it. _

_I will not break it again. _

_I'd rather die first. _

Julia heard the Gear chirping again.

_Oh, Alonzo... You reminded me of that conversation we had so long ago... How I revealed to you I didn't want to feel things for you that you didn't feel for me... that I didn't want you to break my heart. _

_You said again that you weren't going to break it...and I believed you._

_I never thought I'd be the one to break yours..._

Julia did not hear the final series of explosions that instantly eradicated the entire Eden Project camp.

* * *

**A/N: Please be assured this is far from the end of this story; trust me: it will all make sense in the end. **


	5. The Sire of Sorrow

**A/N: Libraries are a Godsend. Due to a computer death, my only access to updating this fic has been at the library (thank God for my anal tendency to create backups of files, too) . It is not the ideal place for a muse to sing (you know how libraries demand silence, and all...) it does mean that I am able to post a new chapter. Special thanks to The Nagging Cube for enquiring as to my well-being and the status of this WIP. I hope that this update is satisfactory.**

Alonzo Solace was cutting across the desert terrain at a moderate rate when he heard a far-off eruption of some kind. He slowed the ATV and came to a stop. In the distance, he saw a cloud of dust rising. His breath caught in his throat.

_That came from the direction of the camp..._ Without aid of the Jumper monocular, he wasn't able to pinpoint the precise location. Still, every nerve was on edge. He keyed his Gear and tried to reach Julia.

"Solace to base camp... Julia, do you read?'

Silence.

He waited a few more tense moments, not for a moment believing she could actually be taking a nap.

"Doc, come in..."

Silence. He kept staring towards base camp, willing _someone_ to answer his call.

"Julia, please..." he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

He slipped off the device and scrutinized it, making sure it was in working order. Satisfied there was nothing wrong with it after turning it over in his hands several times, he placed it back on his head.

A sudden, distant flash of light drew is attention, then the roar of another explosion finally reached his ears. A cold, dreadful feeling crept up his spine, coupled with the certainty that something was _very_ amiss. Some part of his brain went numb, preventing him from thinking about anything other than reaching base camp and Julia.

He keyed the Gear once more. When he again received no reply, he wrenched the communications device from his head and flung it down in the sand in anger. He was close to hyperventilating, and his shoulders heaved as he tried to steady his breathing.

After a few moments when he'd calmed enough, he bent down and retrieved the Gear.

He slipped it back on and once again tried to get in touch with the Eden Advance crew.

"Solace to base camp... does _anyone_ read?!" Desperation turned his voice into a high-pitched cry.

Frantic now, Alonzo engaged the ATV and pressed it to maximum speed. He _had_to get back to the camp... All instincts about danger or safety shut down, and all energy was diverted to keeping the vehicle going at top speed. He'd deal with John Danziger's anger over his recklessness later.

On the horizon, Alonzo thought he caught a flicker of movement. It was a mere smudge against the background of dirt and sky, but it looked to him like it was in motion.

He kept going, knowing that whatever it was he had sighted would eventually meet up with him at some point. The smudge on the horizon kept getting closer, and a small part of Alonzo's consciousness idly wondered if it was a lone Grendler, out on its daily gatherer-trader wanderings. But it was too small to be a Grendler, he realised.

_True?_

Alonzo squinted. Heat waves shimmered, distorting his view as sand and sky melded together.

Yes, it was definitely True Danziger, and she was running.

A new series of explosions lit up the afternoon sky.

_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... _Alonzo counted as the sounds ripped through the air, ominously rumbling like distant thunder.

He could clearly see True, now. He pulled the ATV to a stop and continued on foot to meet her.

"Mr. Solace!" she choked out breathlessly.

He saw her pale, tear-stained face.

"True! What happened?!" he cried as she crashed into him, throwing her arms around his middle. She held on to him as if her very life depended on it.

Her sobs distressed him greatly. Alonzo carefully pushed her back and knelt so he was eye-to-eye with the girl. There was sheer terror reflected there.

"True," he said steadily, trying not to further traumatize her, "tell me what happened!"

True sniffled, swallowed and took several moments to catch her breath. Tears continued to stream from her puffy, swollen eyes.

Alonzo was at a loss as to how to comfort her; he couldn't ever remember having to soothe a child. He was already terribly worried himself.

"There- there were Z.E.D.s... They came and they shot Walman and Cameron!"

"What!" Alonzo shouted.

True nodded. "And then Yale made me and Uly go stay with Julia..."

Alonzo gripped True's shoulders more tightly than he intended upon hearing Julia's name. "Is Julia alright?" he asked.

"She told me to find you," True answered. "She killed one of the Z.E.D.s, but she was trapped underneath his body..."

"All those explosions," Alonzo started to say, and True dissolved into tears again.

"I think everyone is dead," she whispered sorrowfully. Then, an almost guilty-sounding whisper: "I saw their bodies..."

The pilot bit down hard, trying to stave off the scream of overwhelming grief, fury and disbelief that was building inside. His neck muscles went taut with the strain, and he shut his eyes tightly.

"No," he spat, shaking his head vehemently. "No!"

True looked at him fearfully; watched him clench and unclench his fists. She was completely incapable of dealing with his rage. "Julia told me to tell you that it was Reilly; that it was the Council. They took Uly."

Alonzo shot a sharp glance at her. "The Council! They took Uly?!" he repeated, barely over the shock of the revelation that the Council had been responsible for the attack.

"And Julia also said that the Z.E.D. shot two Terrians with worm bullets. She was afraid of what would happen if they exploded underground."

"I'm going back right now," Alonzo stated, almost as if he hadn't heard True's last statement.

"But... what if they're watching? What if they're waiting?" True was shaking.

"I said I'm going back!" Alonzo snarled, and made to return to the ATV.

The girl flinched as if she'd been struck, her mouth caught frozen open in silent protest. She called after him: "I don't want you to go back there. Please, don't leave me. I don't want to go back!"

When he didn't stop or respond to her plea, she jogged after him and caught him, arms encircling his waist, hoping to slow him down. "Don't gooooooo......" she wailed, as her feet dragged an uneven trail in the dust.

Alonzo stopped and sighed in resignation. "I _have_ to go back, True. I need to know for sure..." He swallowed the lump in his throat and pried the girl's arms off himself.

_I have to know for sure if Julia... _He looked down at the shell-shocked expression on True's face, and was moved by the utter sense of loss he perceived. He knew he couldn't abandon her.

"We'll go together," he finally said.

"Okay," True whispered, and rubbed her face with her heels of her hands.

Alonzo sat in the driver's seat, and True clambered up behind him. She braced herself there, holding onto the struts of the ATV for support. They had just started rolling when the ground ahead of them was disturbed, and four, five, six Terrians shot to the surface.

"What the-" Alonzo exclaimed, and hit the brakes. The vehicle shuddered in protest and stopped a mere foot from the row of indigenous life-forms.

Before Alonzo could say another word, he was transported to the Dreamplane.

Dozens of the local Terrian tribe moved about and encircled him, dance-like, trilling and twittering. An unspecified multitude of emotions swelled around Alonzo and pressed upon him until he felt he could bear no more.

"Stop this!" Alonzo cried out, holding his head. "I don't understand what you're trying to tell me."

But the confused communication between the two species did not cease, and Alonzo could make no sense of the muddled messages.

"I don't know what you want from me," Alonzo spoke aloud. "You have to let me go back. My people were attacked -"

The empathic Terrian messages intensified, and Alonzo groaned due to its force. Then he remembered what True had said about the Z.E.D. shooting two Terrians.

"Two of your members were attacked, too," he said, and felt the tension of the imperfect method of communication ease slightly. He was gaining confidence now, that he was comprehending _their_ distress, and they, _his_. "They were shot with a terribly destructive weapon. They need medical assist-" his words came to a halt. What kind of medical assistance could be offered to a species they knew nothing about? And Julia...

_**The Mother has healed our wounded.**_

"Oh," Alonzo replied, relieved that he was at last comprehending even this small portion of the Terrrians' agitated communication.

The tone of the Terrians' messages then turned to what Alonzo could only interpret as accusatory.

"No, wait," he begged for a chance to explain. "Your tribe was attacked by the same people who attacked_ my_ group... _My_ people had nothing to do with this-"

_**The link is in peril.**_

"You mean _Uly_," Alonzo said, feeling a blazing anger at the thought of what had happened to the boy, and what might be happening to him at that very moment. "When they attacked my group, they took Uly..."

_**The link must not be harmed.**_

"I know! That's why I have to go back; before it's too late to find the ones responsible." But even as he spoke these words, Alonzo felt defeat settling darkly in his heart. How could he possibly hope to mount a rescue mission against a force much more powerful than he was?

_**The link must not be lost.**_

"Do you know where he is? Can you find him?" Alonzo asked, desperate for something concrete.

A wave of sadness and confusion rolled like a tidal wave from the Terrians and washed over him.

_**The Mother does not carry him.**_

"What does that mean?" the pilot cried. "What do you mean 'Mother does not carry him'?!"

But the indigenous creatures gave no further reply or explanation.

Alonzo opened his eyes and realised he was no longer on the Dreamplane. True Danziger let out a sob of relief.

"You're alive! I thought you'd..." she stopped herself as she came to the realisation he'd been merely dreaming with the Terrians.

"Yeah, I'm alive," Alonzo mumbled, and gave his woozy head a shake.

"You were talking with _them_, huh?" she ventured to ask.

"Yes," Alonzo answered, lost in his thoughts and impressions of this latest encounter.

"Are we still going back?"

"We have to. We've got to find Uly, so that's where we'll pick up the trail."

Wordlessly, Alozno started up the vehicle again. He hadn't known what to expect when he got here, but when he finally pulled to a stop at what was once Eden Advance's camp, he felt as if his world was collapsing.

On shaky legs, he stumbled out of the ATV and went a few paces. Slack-jawed and silent, he gazed at several large, perfectly round craters of dead, scorched and blackened earth. The ground seemed to rush up and connect solidly with his bent knees, jarring his bones and forcing the air from his lungs.

_There's nothing left_. _There's nothing left!_

Hands that had become rough and calloused over the months of manual labor on the planet wiped at vain tears that flowed freely from his eyes.

"Julia..." Alonzo whispered, hugging his arms to himself tightly. He remembered how Julia clung to him the night he'd returned after the awfully misguided group decision to abandon her. He's sensed her residual terror and her relief; intuited that she hoped he would never let her go, and part of him wanted to oblige her. He thought of her healing touch, the bright smiles that were reserved for him, and her incredibly blue eyes.

_You can't be gone. Not after everything we've been through. I didn't think that I'd ever find someone who would make me want to give up the stars... Julia..._

Alonzo did not hear the soft, approaching steps of True. He did not react when she placed a tentative hand on his slumped shoulder.

"Mr. Solace?" True said quietly, unsure of herself and if it was even the right time. "Juila wanted you to know something before I came to find you..."

When Alonzo did not reply, True continued anyway. "She told me to tell you she was sorry, and that she loves you."

Alonzo gasped as an almost physical pain exploded from the core of his being. This was too much. The agony of defeat and loss was too much. As he knelt in the scorched, arid soil, he prayed that the ground would simply swallow him whole.

And it did.

* * *

**A/N: Hi. I want to stress that this is not the end and that there is plenty more to come. Thank you for your patience as I deal with my computer issues.**


	6. What Dreams May Come

**A/N: Sorry for the interminably long delay in updating this one. I have several excuses, none of which I am sure you want to hear. Suffice to say, I'm writing again. Hopefully all will make sense in this chapter after what happened in the last one. **

Chapter 6 - What Dreams May Come

The daytime heat was oppressive. In this arid, desert region, Julia knew such conditions were conducive to what was known on Earth as heat-stroke. She was thankful for even the minimal shade inside the Med-tent as she scrutinized for the umpteenth time Devon's medical information.

Perspiration started to seep onto her brow, and Julia impatiently brushed aside a trickle that was threatening to crawl down her right cheek.

The Eden Project doctor huffed in frustration and exhaustion, blowing a tired breath of air upwards that barely disturbed the limp strands of hair hanging over her forehead. She was no closer to an answer as to why Devon had fallen ill than when she'd first started, and she was starting to despair there would be no answers.

Soon, she knew John Danziger would come to the conclusion that they were just wasting time waiting for her to find a cure that didn't exist, and he would give the order to move on to New Pacifica. Not even a misplaced sense of sentimental loyalty to Devon or consideration for Uly's feelings would be sufficient to sway a man like John; he was quite intractable once he'd made a decision.

_I'm just so tired_, a weary Julia thought, closing her burning eyes for a moment. _I'm a doctor, and I don't know how to save Devon. Maybe if I just put my head down for one minute… If I could rest, maybe I'll be able to think a little more clearly…After all, everyone keeps telling me I need to sleep…_

Julia gently pushed aside some equipment to make some space. She leaned over on the worktable and buried her head in her folded arms, allowing herself to sink into the sweet slumber her mind and body had craved for so long. Her cares and concerns slipped away as if she were shedding a heavy cloak from her shoulders.

When Julia raised her head, it was with a sense of contentment that she couldn't recall experiencing in a very long time. She felt calm, yet alert, as if all her senses were honed to a fine point.

"_Julia_."

The doctor turned at the sound of her name.

A solitary figure stood at the entrance way to the tent. His face was gaunt and lean. The dark eyes held a haunted look that brought Julia's heart to the brink of breaking in sympathy to some fathomless, unspoken pain. His clothes hung from what was probably once a toned, muscular frame.

"Julia, tell me it's really _you_..." the voice was paper-thin; a cross between whisper and a plea. He extended a hand towards her hesitantly; as if afraid she might suddenly vanish like some apparition.

In shock, Julia scrutinized the figure, and her eyes widened in recognition. "Alonzo? What is this? What happened?" She was on her feet in an instant, about to bolt towards him.

Without replying, Alonzo crossed to her and caught her up in his arms, crushing her to himself, letting kisses fall on her head, her face, and her lips. Astonished by this unexpected display of affection, and by Alonzo's unkempt appearance, Julia pulled herself away from his embrace.

"Alonzo, stop," she ordered. Alonzo opened his eyes and stared back at her, stung by her apparent rejection, and Julia felt a sense of self-recrimination when she saw her actions and words had wounded him.

"You look terrible!" Julia blurted out, "what's happened to you?"

She was about to reach for her diaglove, worried he was perhaps suffering the effects of heat-stroke, or a relapse of the condition caused by EVE's malfunction. She prayed it wasn't a more serious ailment, but Alonzo held her hands tightly with a sort of quiet desperation.

"I'm not sick," he said plainly, gripping her wrists with more force than he intended.

"You're not sick?" Julia countered, wrenching herself away from him. "Have you seen what you look like? You look like you've had the life sucked out of you."

"I know… I'm sorry about that. I – I should have realised you would have been worried."

Julia kept staring at him, listening to his almost incoherent talk with increasing anxiety. She considered the possibility that he might be delirious, but let him continue.

"I've just missed you so much…" his voice trailed off. He reached out for her again and gently held her face, gazing at her longingly.

"What do you mean you've 'missed me'?" Julia repeated with a frown and a puzzled expression that caused her eyebrows to furrow. "I know I've been busy, but it's not like I've been completely isolating myself from everyone while I look for a cure for Devon."

"That's not what I meant, Julia… I … I remember…" came his voice, softly.

Julia studied him closely. "You remember… what?"

Head bowed, Alonzo continued: "I remember this day."

He gave a short, mirthless laugh. "I remember every damn detail about this day, because it was the last day we had before… This was the day we decided to try to use the Morganite to diagnose what was wrong with Devon."

"What are you _talking_ about? Alonzo, you're not making any sense." Julia cut in, her confusion over his physical state in no way dispelled.

"I know. I know I'm not making any sense," Alonzo said with impatience, exhaling loudly. "Just listen to me, and I'll try to explain: _I'm dreaming to you right now_."

Bewilderment flitted across the doctor's face. "What do you mean you're dreaming to me? This is a dream?"

Alonzo nodded. "Yes. I don't know how it's working, but somehow I am communicating with you through the Dreamplane… and I'm dreaming to you _through_ time; from the future. You have to understand that even though this is a dream, it's really happening. It's not – it's not fake."

"By 'fake', you mean this isn't my own subconscious creating all of this. Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"Yes, that's what I mean," Alonzo replied, showing relief that he hadn't lost her completely with his explanation. "Juila, what I'm about to tell you is the truth: you were right about the Council. We're all in very terrible danger. Reilly is real. He's here, on the planet, and he's coming for Uly."

"_What_?" Julia gasped, a stab of fear striking at her heart. "H-how do you know all this?"

"Because," Alonzo said mournfully, "I've seen it happen. There was an attack on the camp. Z.E.D. units executed everyone. Reilly took Uly."

Julia stared at Alonzo after this revelation in disbelief, struck dumb.

"Everyone needs to evacuate camp, immediately," Alonzo continued, "don't spare another minute. Head for the caves; anywhere but here. Reilly cannot get his hands on Uly; not again."

"How am I supposed to get everyone to do that?" Julia asked dismally. "You know they'll never believe me. 'Dreaming through time'? They'll think I just had a nightmare; or worse, that I've lost my mind."

"Then you'll need to find a way to prove it's true," Alonzo declared. He appeared to be deep in thought, then said: "I know how to do it. I know how this day played out. When you wake up from this dream, I'll be about to check in with you to try to convince you to go lie down for a real break. You'll try to convince me that Reilly and EVE are distinct entities. You'll also ask me to try to contact the Terrians to assist in diagnosing Devon..."

"…And what then?" Julia prodded. "Do they help us?"

"Sort of," Alonzo replied. "Uly and I got two words: '_Ask Mother_'."

" 'Ask Mother'?" Julia repeated. "That's all? How is that going to help me convince anyone, especially John?"

"Easy. Before Uly and I contact the Terrians on the Dreamplane, you just tell John you already know what answer we're going to get. When we wake up with confirmation, he'll have no choice but to believe you."

Julia sent Alonzo a look of consternation that spoke of her reservations about the whole affair. "I can try," she finally said. "But, Alonzo, what if it doesn't work? What if no one believes me?"

"You _have_ to. You have to _make_ them," Alonzo replied forcefully. "Otherwise…" he let his words hang in the air, knowing the alternative was all too terrible to contemplate.

The pilot drew her close again, and she pressed her head to his shoulder. For a dream, he certainly felt oh-so-real and solid and warm.

"I believe in you," he whispered. "You can do this."

* * *

"Julia?"

The doctor heard her name being called from behind the haze of a woolly-headed slumber.

"Julia," the voice repeated, softly.

"Mmm?" Julia raised her head and tried to recover her senses. The voice sounded like Alonzo.

_Wasn't I just talking to him_? Julia wondered to herself.

She raised her head and turned to face him, hair tumbling across her field of vision. With a lazy hand, she swept her bangs aside and tried to focus on Alonzo. He was looking at her quite intently; an expression of worry reflected in his dark eyes.

"Alonzo…I was just dreaming about you," she said, stifling a yawn. "I guess I fell asleep…"

"If you fell asleep, you probably needed it. That's why I came, actually. I wanted to check on you to make sure you weren't working yourself too hard. Even doctors need to rest now and then, you know, even genetically-engineered ones."

"Well, thank you for your concern," Julia replied. "Now that you've seen I am fully capable of taking breaks all on my own, maybe you and everyone else can quit harassing me about it."

Alonzo grinned in a disarming way that she always found to be much too irresistible. "Alright," he said, "you're right that we do get on your case, but it's only because we care about you. We don't want you to burn out…"

"I won't," Julia said. "Burning out is not an option. Not when Devon's survival is at stake."

Alonzo nodded, his expression sombre as his thoughts also moved to the tragic turn of events over the past few days, including Devon's turn for the worse 24 hours earlier.

Looking to change topics, he grinned broadly. "So… you were dreaming about me, huh? Anything good?"

Julia's face took on a reflective appearance. "Yes, I was dreaming about you, but… it's strange…"

Alonzo's grin faded. "What's strange?"

"It wasn't like any dream I've had before. It felt so _real_. I mean, I've had dreams that felt 'real' before, but then you wake up, and you realise just how _un -_real they were. This dream… was nothing like those."

"Tell me about it," Alonzo prodded.

Julia bit her lip. "You were you, but you weren't really yourself. You looked terrible, actually, like you were half-starved and had been through hell. You told me - this is going to sound crazy – that you were using the Dreamplane to communicate with me through time… from the future."

If the notion sounded crazy, the pilot made no indication of it whatsoever.

Encouraged by this, Julia continued. "You told me that my fears about the Council and Reilly were accurate, and that we had to evacuate the camp because we were in danger, and that they were coming for Uly…"

Alonzo made no comment.

"See," Julia said with a soft, humourless laugh, "I told you it was crazy."

"No," Alonzo countered seriously, "It isn't crazy. Do you have fears about the Council and Reilly?"

The question gave the doctor cause for pause. Truthfully, she had to admit to herself she'd had some fears about the Council, EVE and Reilly that had been festering since Franklin Bennett and Elizabeth Anson had died. She hadn't been ready to tell anyone yet, but now that Alonzo had raised the issue…

"As a matter of fact," she began slowly, "I do. I don't want to sound paranoid, but I keep feeling like we're being watched. There are so many discrepancies about EVE that I just can't put my finger on one thing… but… but I'm beginning to doubt that Reilly was merely a program of EVE's making."

Alonzo crossed his arms. "If EVE didn't create Reilly, then…"

"Then Reilly is probably still out there, and he probably still desperately wants to get his hands on Uly. And according to the message your dream-self gave me, he's going to send Z.E.D. units to massacre everyone." Julia finished. "Your dream-self was quite forceful that we clear out of camp, now; head for the caves or something."

"Hmm… Was there anything else about the dream; anything else 'I' said to you that was important?" Alonzo asked, perturbed by the mention of the killer cyborgs.

"Yes," she answered. "There was something about asking the Terrians for help and using Morganite to help diagnose Devon's sickness. It's not a bad idea, actually, and one I was just starting to consider before my nap. We know it worked before to help Morgan with the geolock; maybe it could help us once again; maybe the planet knows how to heal her."

Julia stopped there. _Ask Mother_. The words spoken by the dream version of Alonzo resonated within her. She wouldn't tell him that specific part, not yet. She decided she would only tell John Danziger, because she felt it might be the only way to convince him about the validity of her dream.

"So, if we're to believe that some future version of myself is dreaming to you, we need to get everyone out of here to safety," Alonzo stated.

"You believe me, then," Julia said.

"Of course I do, doc," Alonzo replied. "You're the _last_ one who would make up something like this."

"Bringing John around won't be easy," Julia said hesitantly, "but I think I have a way that might work."

* * *

" '_Ask Mother'_?" John said questioningly. "That's it? 'Ask Mother'?"

"Yes," Julia affirmed, trying not to be put off by Danziger's usual brusque manner. She sought him out as he was tinkering around with one of the pieces of equipment that had something-or other wrong with it.

"I think you've been spending too many nights listening to your boyfriend's Digger-dreams," the mechanic scoffed, "they're startin' to influence yours, too."

Julia flinched at John's use of the word 'digger' for the Terrians. It was a phrase she actually found to be somewhat offensive, though she realised the Terrians themselves probably wouldn't feel slighted by it.

"John, this wasn't like any other dream I've ever had," she insisted, "I told you that."

"You expect me to believe that the Council and Reilly are out there still, and all you've got is a couple cryptic words? I'm not evacuating the camp on the basis of two words, Heller."

Julia sighed, knowing the time had come to try her last argument. "What could it hurt to let Alonzo and Uly try to contact the Terrians? If they dream with them and come back with nothing, then I'm wrong about all of this and we can forget I ever mentioned it… but if they do come back with 'Ask Mother', then I think you need to seriously consider what I dreamt was real."

John looked away from her and scowled, knowing she had a made a reasonable point. He kicked his boot in the dirt while he considered her terms. Julia folded her arms and watched him expectantly.

He ran a hand through his unruly curls and returned his glance to her. "Fine," he said at last.

Julia's smile was one of relief.

"But if 'Lonz and Uly come back with nothin' from the Terrians, I'm holding you to your word that you won't mention this again," John warned, jabbing a finger at Julia. "Last thing we need is for the rest of the crew to catch wind of this and set off a panic."

"Of course," Julia said, "I promise."

* * *

"I suppose it is worth trying," Yale said in his soothing, accented voice after listening to Julia's plan to have Uly and Alonzo attempt to make contact with the Terrians. "Although it seems they generally only offer their assistance on their own terms."

"I know," Julia said. "I know there's still so much we don't understand about them; so much we can learn from each other… but I have a hunch they'll give us something."

The older man gave a long shrug indicating he neither agreed nor disagreed with Julia's assessment. "All I know is that I was able to make peace with my past; that my memories were healed, thanks to the sunstones. The Terrians themselves… their concept of forgiveness… penance, or reconciliation… it does not exist in the same terms as it does for us. But for Uly's sake, I hope they are willing to help."

"Let's go," the doctor urged, swinging her medical kit over her shoulder. "Thanks, Yale, for agreeing to let Uly go through with this."

The tutor smiled as they approached the Adair's tent. "I may be his 'legal' guardian due to Devon's illness, but I assure you: Ulysses makes his own decisions when it involves his mother and his bond with the Terrians."

They entered to find Alonzo already chatting easily with the boy, explaining to him that they were hoping to ask the Terrians for assistance.

"I think it's a good idea," Uly said earnestly. "After all, the Terrians are my friends. I bet if I ask them, they'll help if they can."

The three adults couldn't help but smile as his naiveté.

Julia donned her diaglove and ran a preliminary scan of both Uly and Alonzo, and then the two reclined on their respective cots, instantly falling into the Dreamplane.

"Wish I could fall asleep that easy."

Julia turned at the sound of Danziger's voice.

"There you are," she said, seeing him standing at the opening to the tent. "You're right on time."

"Hello, John," Yale greeted the mechanic.

"Yale," John replied in kind, and stepped further inside, relaxing in the marginally cooler interior temperature of the tent.

"I wonder what it is they see in their dreams," Yale pondered aloud. "Are they like normal, human dreams?"

"I don't know," Julia answered, looking affectionately at Alonzo's slumbering form. His eyelids flickered without opening, and his breathing was slow and even. "I don't think we'll ever fully comprehend Terrian dreams when we still barely have a handle on our own."

She reflected on Alonzo's claim that he'd lost his 'dream button' after so many sleep jumps, and how the Terrians had healed that impaired part of him so he could dream with them. She thought also that even after her own ill-advised attempt to make contact with the alien life-forms by using Uly's altered DNA, they never dreamed to her in that temporarily altered state.

_And they probably never will_, she thought wistfully, looking now at the child they _had_ chosen to be the special link between the species.

"_Reilly took Uly."_

Alonzo's words from her dream startled Julia out of her ruminations.

"_Reilly cannot get his hands on Uly; not again._"

Uly and Alonzo chose that moment to wake. They both sat up together, and Julia pressed her glove to Uly's neck to check his vital signs; then did the same with Alonzo.

"So?" she said, a hopeful expression on her face, "did you get anything?"

"Yeah," Alozno said, exchanging a brief glace with Uly.

Danziger watched them closely; Yale looked calm; expectant.

"They weren't real communicative," Alonzo continued almost apologetically, "but they gave us two words…"

Julia's heart leapt a fraction.

"_Ask Mother._" Uly and Alozno said together.

"Well, I'll be…" Danziger whistled under his breath.

* * *

**Again, this in not the end. Far from it.**


	7. The Time After

**A/N: Okay, I know this is little interlude is short, but totally necessary. My only hope is that it is not confusing.**

* * *

"Mr. Solace?"

Alonzo stirred. A young girl's voice was calling him out of a dream, and for a moment, he cursed that voice.

_I was just with Julia_…

A finger prodded him; tentative at first, then insistent.

"Mr. Solace…" True Danziger whispered fearfully.

With a groan, Alonzo roused himself and sat up from the hard, cold floor of the underground cave.

When his eyes finally adjusted to the semi-darkness, he saw the reason for True's alarm: several Terrians stood over them, staffs in hand.

In the months since the attack on the camp that had left everyone dead - save himself and True – the Terrians had been eerily silent after their worrisome message about Uly's safety. In a way, Alonzo been glad that they hadn't intruded. His grief had been too raw; too close to the surface. Julia was dead; everyone was dead, murdered by the ruthless Council. Having the Terrians inside his head in addition to his anguish would have driven Alonzo crazy.

He always sensed their presence on the periphery, though, silent sentinels, observing him and True as the two struggled to survive without their friends and loved ones.

The mismatched pair had avoided total starvation in their new 'home' by finding edible roots and tubers, and they slaked their thirst from a tiny stream that flowed through the cave. The Terrians themselves had no need of consuming solid foods and water as these alien homo-sapiens did, and while they understood Alonzo and True required such sustenance, they did not provide it.

Alonzo now uneasily regarded the group of assembled Terrians, pondering the reason for their sudden appearance. The link that had been formed with Uly was now broken, and Alonzo knew that they would never consider True a suitable replacement. John, her father, was dead, thus destroying any connection to kin, and humanity at large. It had happened this way with Mary; True would be no different, and Alonzo felt the weight of this additional loss heavily on his heart.

_Damn you, Reilly_, he thought darkly. _If I ever find you, you will pay dearly for what you've done._

True shifted so she was closer to Alonzo, cowering against him in the presence of the Terrians, unsure of their motives.

That these native beings even took them in after the massacre at the camp was an unexpected act of mercy that surprised Alonzo. The Terrians owed them nothing, and they owed them everything.

While still in thought, Alonzo felt himself being drawn, unbidden, onto the Dreamplane…

All around him was sand and sky so bright, it seemed almost bleached white. From the ground emerged members of the local tribe of Terrians.

_We know of your travels, Dreamer_, the 'voices' of the beings echoed in his mind.

Alonzo instantly knew they spoke of his projecting his consciousness through time by dreaming.

"I didn't even realise I could do it," Alonzo managed to articulate to them, unsure if their message was one of approval or opposition.

_Mother suffers from the loss of the link._

"I couldn't stop it from happening," Alonzo said plaintively. "You know I was too late."

_Your dreaming is the key. Your connection to the Time Before must be protected. It is the only way to restore the link. _

"Why me?" Alonzo asked. "You guys are the ones who know how to use the Dreamplane. I'm just a novice. I didn't even know I could dream back in time – back to 'the Time Before' like that. If you know it can be done, why don't _you_ go back and save Uly and everyone else?"

_We do not have the same connection as you, Dreamer. Your bond with the other one is the reason you were able to establish the pathway to the Time Before through the Dreamplane. Our kind do not forge these same bonds as you._

At the words 'the other one', Alonzo was instantly filled with a familiar, intense and passionate emotional longing that set his heart afire. _They mean _Julia! he thought, as her face filled his mind.

"I've already warned her," Alonzo spoke up, "but how will we know if anything has changed? How do we know if it even worked?"

The Terrians offered no reply, appearing to be considering how to best answer in a way he would understand.

"How will we know?" Alonzo demanded again.

_This will cease_, came the reply, and the blinding whiteness that surrounded them blinked out of existence.


	8. Replay

**A/N: Sorry I took longer than I expected with this update. I have to admit I'm not entirely happy with it, but it is once again leading us into another 'hell breaks loose' scenario for the next chapter. I know a lot of this will sound familiar, but hopefully there are enough differences to keep your interest in regards to how things happen this time around.**

* * *

Chapter 8.

* * *

After sending Uly on his way with Yale for his daily lesson, Julia, John and Alonzo remained inside the Adair's tent for several minutes, trying to come up with a plan of action. The boy did not seem to be affected by the two-word message offered by the Terrians; neither did he offer any personal insights on the matter.

"So, you believe me?" Julia tentatively asked John, referring to her own troubling dream of doom and gloom.

The big man shrugged. "I've seen a lot of crazy things on this planet; things I couldn't explain. Guess I don't have a choice with this one, now, do I? Based on what just happened, I'd be a fool not to believe that dream of yours. If I didn't believe it, I'd be placing the entire group in jeopardy."

Alonzo broke in: "So what do we do now? Tell the whole group we're moving because Julia's dream warned her that we're going to be attacked?"

John scowled. "That's the _last_ thing we're going to do, Solace. That would just make everyone panic, and I don't need that. What we're going to do is just get everyone to pack up right now, nice and easy, and head for the caves. Once we're safe in there, _then_ we can tell everyone."

Julia nodded in relief. "I like that idea," she said, "because I've been thinking…"

"About what?" John said warily, bracing himself for some totally new idea that might throw a wrench in the works.

"I was hoping to be able to explore the caves for a deposit of Morganite."

"What for?" he snapped, indicating this was probably the last thing he expected to hear.

"Because of what the Terrians told us," the doctor replied calmly, not rising to Danziger's ire. "If they're telling us to 'ask Mother', we should follow their advice and trust them. I think those rocks might be the key to helping us unlock the mystery of what's happened to Devon. I'd like to bring back a sample and -"

"Now just hang on a shankin' minute, Heller," Danziger interrupted, "you're the one who was saying we needed to evacuate the camp, ASAP, because your _dream_ told you that the Council and Reilly were coming after Uly, and I _believed_ you, too. _Now_ you're saying you want to stick around so you can test your theory about those rocks?"

"In a word, yes," Julia answered simply.

"Unbelievable," John snorted, throwing his hands into the air.

"Look, John," Julia said, trying to reason with him, "this could be a real opportunity to find a cure. We theorized that the Morganite helps us form a connection of sorts with the planet, like tapping into its cerebral cortex, for lack of a better term. It's got to be a way of communicating with whatever 'Mother' is."

John gave one of his patented grunts in reply.

"It worked to help Morgan decode the geolock," Julia pressed, and was met by another unconvinced grunt.

"It's something I have to do," Julia said decisively, trying one final argument she hoped would move the Ops crew member: "I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't exhaust every possible avenue. Think of Uly. He trusted us when we told him we were looking to the Terrians for an answer to his mother's illness. I can't betray that trust now."

At the mention of Uly's name, John's expression softened. He looked like he was at war with his own thoughts for a few moments, then: "Fine. You and Lonz' get in the 'Rail, and you go find those rocks. You get 'em, and you get back. No sight-seein' or stopping for anything, got it? I aim to get us outta here as soon as you're done whatever it is you think you'll be able to do with those rocks, and it had better be quick. Your dream didn't exactly give us too many details on _when_ we were supposed to expect this Z.E.D. attack tomorrow, so I'm not taking any chances."

"Fair enough," replied Julia, glad her argument had won out over his sense of caution. She turned and left a still-flummoxed Danziger staring after her.

_I gotta be crazy_, John thought to himself, as he watched her hastily prepare for the trek out to the caves.

"And make sure you stay on Gear!" John barked. _I'm turning into a shankin' mother hen_…

"I can't believe you convinced him to let us go," a relieved Alonzo said to Julia as they drove towards the caves.

"I know," Julia uttered, "but I would have felt terrible if I'd only used that message from the Terrians to prove to John my dream wasn't simply the product of an overworked mind. I couldn't just ignore something that might help us discover what's wrong with Devon."

Alonzo nodded in understanding. "I think we all know things are more than a little complicated with John when it comes to Devon."

"I don't even think John himself realises just how complicated," Julia said reflectively. "You saw his face when I mentioned what Uly must be going through... He's bonded with that boy much more than I think he ever thought possible."

"Uly looks up to him, too," the pilot added. "I don't think he's ever had much of a father-figure before John."

"And Devon has never spoken about who fathered Uly," Julia continued, wondering not for the first time what might have happened to the man who was half-responsible for the boy's genetic make-up.

_Probably heard the word 'Syndrome'_ _and left,_ Julia mused, then chided herself for such uncharitable thoughts. _You don't know the circumstances... Devon's private life is none of your business, even if she _is _your patient…_

* * *

ooo

* * *

"Where are _they _off to?" Morgan Martin asked John, seeing the dust trail of the dune-rail in the distance.

"Ehhh… Julia's got some crazy notion that those sunstones might help her find out what's wrong with Devon," John answered distractedly.

"Why do I get the feeling you're not exactly comfortable with the idea?"

John's eyebrows quirked up involuntarily. Sometimes, the level-four bureaucrat surprised him with his insight. Absently rubbing the stubble on his jaw, John said: "Ah, it's nothin'; just not real keen on the two of them goin' off like that on their own so soon after what happened with EVE…"

He stopped just shy of mentioning what Julia's dream from the future had related about the terrible danger they were in due to EVE, Reilly and the Council. That would make the usually spineless liaison panic uncontrollably, and John didn't need a hysterical Morgan just then.

"Right," a dubious Morgan muttered. "That whole thing just gives me the creeps. If you ask me, we should just shut down that program for good!"

"Not a half-bad idea, Martin," John said, amused to find himself agreeing with the other man, "that is, if he, she – whatever it is – _lets _us shut 'er down."

"What do you mean 'if' it lets us shut her down? It's a computer program, for crying out loud! 'Reilly' is just a computer program, right? I thought we decided this."

"Franklin Bennett tried to kill it with that virus; look where it got him," Danziger stated. "That program must have fail safes and redundancies in abundance to prevent someone from attacking it. It was built to _last_. Obviously our Council 'friends' needed something reliable. They must have inserted code Franklin knew nothing about, even though it was his design."

Morgan thought carefully and had to concede the point. "I guess you're right," he ground out, "but just the same, I don't feel entirely safe knowing _it_ is still up there… Maybe I could convince Yale to help me try to crack some of the coding, you know, program 'Reilly' to maybe perhaps behave in a more… benevolent fashion… What do you think?"

John just looked at the other man with incredulity. "You wanna know what I think? Me, personally, I'm not going anywhere _near_ that computer interface. And Yale risked his life dealing with that thing once already. Besides…"

"'Besides' – what?" Morgan pressed, when John did not continue his thought.

"Ah, nothin'," John replied, realising he'd again nearly told the perennial worrier that he was almost totally convinced of the validity of Julia's dream warning that EVE and Reilly were _not_ the same. His final shred of hope that there was no real threat was rapidly starting to disintegrate as he pondered the possibilities:

_The bomb on the Advance ship… Alex's compulsion chip… whatever it was that was killing us, and whatever killed Franklin and Elizabeth… all the unanswered questions about the penal colonists, the Elder and his band, not to mention the Z.E.D.s… the Council had to have someone to constantly oversee its G889 project. They would never have just trusted it to a computer, no matter how complex the programming…_

"Don't you have somethin' you could be doing?" John said irritably, noticing Morgan was still standing there. "Like pack up your tent?"

"Pack up?" Morgan repeated. "You mean you're moving us onward? So soon? But - but, we're barely over whatever it was that was wrong with us. Bess is still not feeling up to par, and Devon…"

Danziger frowned at the mention of their leader's name. "_Devon_ would want us to continue," he said forcefully. "I'm not gonna let her dream die. Not while I'm still alive and kickin'."

Abashed, Morgan didn't say anything else. Not waiting for any further prompting from John, he turned and moved off towards the tent he shared with his wife. With uncharacteristic efficiency, he immediately gathered up non-essential items and readied them for transportation.

* * *

ooo

* * *

Alonzo gently nudged Julia. "We're here, doc…"

Julia slowly opened her eyes and yawned. The bright sunlight was harsh against her sleep-laden eyes, and she blinked furiously.

"Have a good nap?" the pilot asked jovially as he climbed out of the 'rail.

"Hardly feels like I rested at all," she replied ruefully, following him to a small opening in the caves, stretching her arms.

"Well, it's better than nothing. I was almost tempted to let you sleep while I went in by myself."

Julia smiled in spite of herself. "You wouldn't dare… Some guy you are, thinking of leaving a sleeping woman alone in the middle of nowhere, no protection…"

Alonzo grinned, taking her teasing in stride. "Come on; let's go."

"Whew, nice to get a break from the sun," Julia sighed, as she and Alonzo squeezed inside the narrow opening to the caves.

"Yeah, you're right about that," he said in agreement, also glad to be out of the sun's relentless rays. "Hey, we should probably let Danz' know we made it."

"Oh, of course," Julia said, and cued her Gear. "Eden Advance, this is Heller, checking in… anybody read?"

She got back nothing except static, so she tried again. "Eden Advance, this is Dr. Heller… do you copy?"

"What's the matter?" asked Alonzo, after several failed attempts.

"I guess these caves must be blocking the signal," she surmised with a shrug. "I can't raise them."

"Do you want to head back?" Alonzo realised that being out of contact for too long would worry John. "I mean, you don't think anything could be wrong back there, do you?"

Julia shook her head. "No. But let's be quick about this. We turn back after an hour, okay?"

"Fine with me," the pilot said. "Lead the way."

"Alright, let's go this way," Julia instructed, shining her luma-light down the only tunnel they could find, which curled to the right. "Keep your eyes open for the sunstones."

"Right."

The light danced along the cave walls as they followed the tunnel, unsure of where it was taking them, but hopeful it would lead to the discovery of a deposit of Morganite.

Julia dutifully used the POV function on her Gear to log their progress so they would easily be able to find their way back should they become lost or disoriented.

"Hey, doc, did your dream tell you we'd actually find any of those rocks?" Alonzo asked.

"No," Julia answered, "but I have a feeling we will find some. I don't think the Terrians would have sent that message if it weren't possible to 'ask Mother'."

"Is that a guess?"

"Well, it's an educated one, at any rate. I'm dying to prove my theory about the rocks, and cautiously optimistic about what it could mean for helping Devon."

"If we find some, have you thought about how you're even going to use -"

"Wait a minute," Julia interrupted, suddenly halting.

"What is it?" Alonzo tensed, stopping quickly, narrowly avoiding bumping into her.

"Shh… Listen closely… Do you hear that sound?"

He paused and tried to distinguish between the sounds of his own breathing and what Julia's keen sense of hearing was obviously detecting.

"No," he whispered, after a few moments of what to him seemed like total silence.

"Wait," Julia said softly, "there it is again…"

This time, Alonzo did indeed hear something: a rushing noise that built and then faded away, but it was faint.

"I heard it that time. I know that sound…"

"I do, too," said Julia. "It's probably another one of those vacuum currents, and it's up ahead somewhere. We'll have to be careful; we don't need to be swept up if that's what it is. God only knows where we'd end up."

_Like in a bloodthirsty Grendlers' foul abode,_ she thought with a shudder, recalling with distaste her frightening encounter with a couple of the planet's hulking, slobbering inhabitants.

"We'll be careful," Alonzo said, continuing to match Julia's pace, "but I'd sure like to know where it leads. The last time was a disappointment, but what if this one brings us closer to New Pacifica? We could send a scouting party again to check it out."

Julia smirked. "Are you volunteering? Good luck convincing Danziger on that one."

"I'm just saying that if we're going to be evacuating the camp to these caves anyway, we shouldn't pass up the opportunity to see where it goes."

"One thing at a time, flyboy," Julia said affectionately, not wanting to entirely put the brakes on his suggestion. She had to admit she privately agreed with Alonzo; she just wasn't sure the time was right with the threat of an attack hanging over their heads.

She sucked in a breath as details of the dream surfaced again, and with it, all the frightful theories she had about the Council's presence on G889.

_If Reilly is really going to be staging an attack tomorrow in order to take Uly, how did he find us? Is it EVE? Is he able to track us with our neural implants? If we can be tracked, then we won't be safe in these caves, either…_

Julia was pulled back to the present moment asthe rushing sound of the vacuum currents was gaining in intensity; the flashes of light from the energy it produced were now visible up ahead.

In another thirty seconds, the tunnel led the pair into a rather large chamber. The luma-light brightened two more tunnels opposite them. One branched off to the right; the other to the left. Wordlessly, they crept deeper into the chamber and observed a large spider-web spun partly across the mouth of the tunnel that curved off to the left.

Presently, there was a rush like the sound of wind accompanied by another bright flash of light that receded quickly.

"Guess we're avoiding that one," Alonzo quipped, as they confirmed they were indeed dealing with another of the mysterious and naturally-occurring 'transportation' systems found on the planet.

"Thanks. I don't want to have to explain to John how we managed to get side-tracked because we got sucked into another one of these things," Julia remarked.

Alonzo found himself smiling. "Come on," he said, "let's move on. The sooner we find those rocks, the sooner we get back. That'll make John happy."

Ignoring the spider tunnel for the time being, the couple continued their search for the enigmatic sunstones through the passageway off to the right.

* * *

ooo

* * *

A little over two hours later, the doctor and the pilot pulled up into Camp, happy that their trek to the caves had been a successful one. At once, they noticed that all of the tents except for the Adair's tent and the MedTent had been taken down and the contents packed.

The Edenites were mostly ambling around or sitting at makeshift tables, holding idle conversation while trying not to complain about the heat of the afternoon.

Danziger approached as Alonzo halted the vehicle, a look of relief he didn't bother to hide registering on his uneven features.

"Glad you made it back in one piece," he said to them quietly. "Can't help feeling a little edgy lately, if you know what I mean. Did you get any of those rocks you were so stubborn about wanting to find?"

"We did," Julia answered with a small smile, holding up the heat-proof pouch.

"Well, that's good… Look, I haven't told anyone exactly why we're moving out soon, but I got 'em to get packing so we could leave at a moment's notice."

"That was good thinking, John," Alonzo with an approving nod.

John shrugged off the compliment. "Doc, how long do you think it's gonna take to do your thing with the rocks?"

To Julia's ears, he sounded anxious, and she wasn't entirely sure it was due to her dream warning. She was struck by the sudden thought: _His apprehension is because of Devon_! _I only hope this wasn't a complete waste of time and that I find some answers…_

"Just let me get my diaglove and med-scanner," Julia answered, "and then we can head over to the ship. It'll just take a couple minutes."

John and Alonzo watched as she hurried off towards the MedTent.

"I made her take a nap both ways," Alonzo said casually, "she's been driving herself way too hard."

"Well, she wouldn't be 'Julia' if she wasn't always busy at somethin'," Danziger commented dryly.

"Funny, that sounds like you, too," Alonzo countered with a grin.

True to her word, Julia was back with her glove and scanner in less than two minutes, but still apologized for the delay. "Sorry; I had to move quietly in there. Bess is asleep on one of the cots. She's still not quite back to normal yet, and I didn't want to disturb her."

"Yeah, strangely enough, Martin packed up their tent," John said by way of explanation.

"_Morgan_ did? All by himself?" Alonzo asked. "Guess he's got it in him after all to pull his weight."

"Alright… I'm ready to go, gentlemen," Julia said, antsy to start. "Shall we?"

With a nod from them, Julia began leading the two men towards the waiting Venus-class ship.

"Where's my dad going with Julia and Mr. Solace?" True asked Yale. The departure of the trio hadn't escaped her notice. The daily period of instruction was over, and the children were simply passing the time listening to Yale recount stories about what Earth used to be like before its ruin.

"Julia wants to try to see if she can discover a way to help Devon," the tutor stated. "I think your father just wants to be sure nothing goes wrong."

"The Terrians told me and Mr. Solace how to help my mom," Uly said cheerily. "That's why he and Julia went to get some of those rocks from the cave."

"If that's all they were doing, then why's my dad been so worried?" the girl asked, casting another glance towards the retreating figure of her father.

Yale's brow creased and he pursed his lips at the question. Behind his dark lenses, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he pondered how to best respond. The younger Danziger could read her father's moods extremely well, he realised.

"I am sure your father was only concerned about how Alonzo treats the vehicles," he explained smoothly, though he knew True would probably see right through him.

"Yeah, right," she replied a roll of her eyes. "My dad worries, and then my dad _worries_… Something's got him all messed up, but he won't tell me what."

"True, sometimes there are things a father does not tell his children for their own protection," Yale explained, hoping to end the discussion. "If your father wants you to know that there is something troubling him, he will tell you when he is ready. Alright?"

"Sure," True mumbled, coming to the unsatisfactory and disappointing conclusion that Yale would say nothing more on the matter.

"It's okay, True," Uly said kindly. "Your dad's just worried because my mom put him in charge of everything..."

The girl sighed. She knew Uly was only trying to make her feel better; the problem was he didn't seem to understand that her father really _was_ worried about something, and it had nothing to do with his leadership abilities whatsoever.

* * *

ooo

* * *

Strained and skeptical conversation dominated the camp late into the afternoon. News that Julia had indeed discovered what was ailing Devon had been welcome, but the cause of the ailment came as a shock. At Morgan's insistence, Julia tested him and everyone else for the presence of the nanotechnology that had been assailing Devon.

Once Julia had cleared the entire group, John assembled them all around the evening fire. Bess was feeling quite a bit better, and joined her husband while the group ate a meagre dinner in subdued silence.

"I know you're all feeling down about what Julia found out about Devon," Danziger announced, "and I'm just serving notice that what I am about to say isn't going to be anything pleasant, either."

Julia, knowing John had made the executive decision that they would tell the group about her dream warning, nodded at him encouragingly.

"What is it?" Morgan asked uncomfortably, a nervous edge creeping into his tone.

"We're moving out at the crack of dawn tomorrow; heading to the caves where Julia and 'Lonz picked up those rocks."

Surprised murmurs rose up from the group.

"The _caves_?" Morgan asked with a frown, voicing the question that was on almost everyone else's mind. "What for?"

"For our protection," John answered. "This isn't easy for me to explain, and I'm not gonna sugar-coat it. So listen up, and hold all your questions 'til I'm done explaining, okay?"

A hush fell over them, and John could see he had their undivided attention. He searched all their faces briefly, trying to gauge the mood. When he came to his daughter, he could see she was gazing at him with a wide-eyed, worried expression.

Taking a deep breath, John began. "Here's the situation: Julia had a dream earlier today, only it wasn't an ordinary dream. It was a warning, and it was from the future… Doc?"

At this invitation, Julia stood. She slowly began to recount without embellishment the warning of an impending attack as revealed in the dream, though she purposely left out the part about Reilly coming for Uly. With the boy present, she didn't want to upset him further since she could do nothing to eradicate the nanotechnology that had felled Devon. She did go on to explain how the future version of Alonzo spoke of asking the Terrians for assistance, and that the dream-Alonzo told her he knew how they would respond.

"I know it probably sounds crazy to you," Julia said, "but when Uly and Alonzo dreamed with the Terrians, they did indeed get back the message to 'ask Mother'."

Uly and Alonzo nodded at this, a tacit confirmation to assure the group that Julia was indeed being truthful.

The young doctor continued: "So, I'm with John. One part of the dream has already borne out; I don't think we should risk the rest of it by remaining here. We need to leave, and the caves are the best option for now."

A few of the members of Eden Advance seemed on the verge of protesting, wrestling with how to refute what had been said. John waited patiently to see if any of them would raise an objection.

Walman finally spoke up. "So lemme get this straight," he said haltingly, "Julia had this crazy dream that we're all gonna get killed by a bunch of Z.E.D.s, and that Councilman Reilly is behind the attack?"

"Yes," Julia replied quietly.

"So how come Alonzo was able to dream to you? How'd he survive if we're all supposedly attacked and killed?" Walman asked.

"I-I don't know," Julia stammered, the thought honestly never once having occurred to her. "He didn't explain how he managed to escape when the rest of us didn't, but you should have seen his condition. The Alonzo in my dream looked malnourished and ill, as if he'd been wasting away for weeks and weeks."

"Okay, let's say we buy that," Magus put in, "why now? What possible reason would Reilly – and excuse me if I have a tough time believing he's really out there – what reason does he have for coming after us with those Z.E.D.s now?"

Alonzo, Yale, Julia and John sent uneasy looks to each other.

Julia's voice was hard when she answered the other woman. She realised she could hide it no longer, even with Uly present. "His reason is that the Council is still interested in Uly."

Ulysses gaped at her. "Me? How come?"

"You know why, Uly," Julia said, infinitely sorry he had to be burdened with the explanation. "The Terrians healed you, and the Council wants to be able to control those changes in you because they want to be able to control this planet.

"This goes all goes back to when I decided to try to make myself the link between humanity and the Terrians," Julia continued, feeling a rush of shame from the memories of the time of her misguided betrayal of her friends' trust. "Councilman Reilly _does_ exist, and he hasn't given up his search for our location. We'd be placing Uly and ourselves in grave danger if we didn't take immediate steps to avoid detection."

Thick silence fell like a pall over them at the revelation that the child was still at the center of the Council's insatiable quest for dominance. Julia cast apprehensive looks over her friends. Each looked concerned and upset, but thankfully, they seemed to have been convinced about the dangers her dream portended.

"Well, we're not gonna let 'em," Walman spoke up harshly, pounding a fist for emphasis. "Those bastards aren't gonna waltz in here and just take Uly away to do God knows what!"

"Which is why we're leaving at first light," John said calmly. "We take the vehicles for half the journey and then we do the rest on foot. I'm not happy about abandoning 'em like that, but if we park 'em by the caves, we'd be too easy to track."

"Which also begs the question of how _they_ know we're here in the first place," Morgan drawled. "It's like I told you earlier, Danziger: we should shut down EVE for good!"

"And I told you that it's too risky," Danziger retorted. "No offense, Morgan, but none of us here knows how to do it. We'd be putting ourselves at risk, and I'm not going to add to the list of casualties."

With that, Morgan kept his tongue and Bess pressed in close to him, rubbing his back in a soothing gesture. "He's right, honey," she said quietly. "I know you're great at cracking codes an' all, but… I don't want anything to happen to you…or anyone else."

"Danziger," the usually silent Mazatl said, "don't you think it would be wiser to travel under the cover of darkness?"

As soon as the words were out of the other man's mouth, Danziger gave himself a mental slap. _Of course it would be wiser_, his mind scolded. _Why didn't I think of it sooner?_

It was no use trying to save face, and John didn't want the crew member to think his advice wasn't sound or that he had spoken out of turn.

"Hell, Mazatl," John responded humbly, "you're right. It _would_ be wiser. But I don't know if we're all up to it. Most of you were knocked pretty flat when we started getting sick… I just figured another nights' rest would do us all some good."

"Hey, if those Z.E.D.s are on their way, I wanna be as far away as possible," Baines interjected, "and I don't care if I have to walk all night to get to those caves to be safe."

There was a chorus of "yeahs" and murmurs of affirmation in agreement with Baines' position, and John realised he needed to quickly reel them in before things had a chance to spin out of control.

"Okay, people, calm down…" he said, appealing for silence. "Let's vote on it, then. All in favour of leaving now raise your hand."

Though some were hesitant at first, every hand eventually went up.

"Alright, then," John said, glad that there weren't any dissenters among them. "I guess we're moving tonight."

* * *

to be continued...


End file.
